| "There Are No Superior Martial Arts, | | | | (Cognitive Clarity)Imagine you knew you were about |
| Only Superior Martial Artists"I've read, heard, | | | | to be attacked by a large, strong, psychopathic |
| repeated and written that phrase so often I can't | | | | assailant. There is no way of avoiding the fight. Let's |
| even remember where it came from. The reason I | | | | say your self-defense system consists of 20 |
| like it so much is because it's true!This article is not | | | | different techniques. In the stressful moments |
| another effort to debate the merits of one | | | | preceding the encounter your mind is reeling; trying |
| self-defense system over another. Nor is it to argue | | | | to figure out the most appropriate course of |
| about which style will or won't work "on the street." | | | | action.Keep in mind that your cognitive abilities are |
| All martial arts have components within them that are | | | | impaired by stress. Stress-related "brain damage" |
| powerful fighting techniques. It's important to know | | | | prevents you from forming a logical or creative |
| which ones they are!Self-Defense Systems Differ, | | | | solution to your predicament. What will you |
| But Self-Defense Principles Don'tOn the surface, | | | | do?Seeing your dilemma, a good friend (if he wasn't |
| martial arts and self-defense systems seem different. | | | | before he is now!) discretely passes you a set of |
| However, if they are legitimate and effective, the | | | | brass knuckles. What do you suppose has just |
| principles underlying them are the same.Principles are | | | | happened to your thought process?I'll hazard a guess |
| the rules about the way things are. They are | | | | that the mental fog begins to lift, your stress |
| inarguable, non-negotiable and unchanging. They have | | | | decreases and your objective becomes clear. It's |
| nothing to do with the way we think things are or | | | | now a simple matter of taking those brass knuckles |
| the way we want them to be. Like the laws of | | | | and slamming them repeatedly into vulnerable parts |
| physics, they just are.As "Martial Scientists," our goal | | | | of your opponent's anatomy. Seems simple now |
| is to explore, discover, test and confirm the | | | | doesn't it?The potential of you winning the encounter |
| operative principles that define and influence the | | | | has been significantly enhanced. That same affect |
| reality of combat. Your ability to produce a desired | | | | can be achieved without the brass knuckles by |
| result, in this case to effectively defend yourself, is a | | | | sticking to a limited, yet adaptable, inventory of |
| direct result of how well you understand and apply | | | | dependable fighting skills.THE SCIENCE OF STRESS |
| the principles of combat and human | | | | POINTS TO THE NEED TO SPECIALIZEVirtually all |
| performance.What Do You Know About | | | | accomplished fighters are known for specific |
| Performance Under Pressure?This article is about | | | | techniques that they excel at. However, if you ignore |
| how fear and stress affect fighting performance. | | | | their "bread & butter" techniques, most of them |
| Whether you consider yourself a seasoned martial | | | | would be considered "average." Those fighters excel |
| artist, a self-defense enthusiast, or a self-taught "ham | | | | because of their ability to simplify their system and |
| & egger" who just wants to stay in shape and boost | | | | build on their superior techniques.Knowing what you |
| your confidence, this information is important to | | | | now know about technique selection and stress |
| know. If you are training for self-defense, you need | | | | performance, what do you think about the merits of |
| to select and develop skills that will be effective in | | | | "specializing" in a core set of fighting skills? Here's |
| the chaos of a violent conflict. This article will help | | | | how to get started.Explore Your StrengthsDon't just |
| you in that process.FEAR, STRESS AND | | | | latch onto a fighting tactic arbitrarily. Evaluate your |
| SELF-DEFENSEStress Is Good, But Only If It | | | | existing skills and select a strike, a kick, or a finishing |
| Works For And Not Against YouStress is our | | | | hold that seems like a "good fit" for you. What |
| response to a real or perceived threat that we | | | | technique to you consistently land or apply when |
| inherited from our ancestors. It was, and is, essential | | | | sparring? What is your best or favorite technique? |
| for our survival as a species. That survival | | | | What technique do you feel you would resort to |
| mechanism, often called the "Fight or Flight | | | | under pressure? Answering these questions will get |
| Response," is a good thing. If properly managed, it | | | | you started with the specialization |
| can be a powerful force in fighting off (fight) or | | | | process.AdaptabilityHaving as few techniques as |
| escaping from (flight) a violent assailant. However, if | | | | possible doesn't mean that you limit your ability to |
| ignored or misunderstood, stress can impair our | | | | respond to a wide variety of situations. The idea is |
| mental and physical performance and compromise our | | | | to take that specialty strike, kick, joint lock or choke |
| effectiveness in a fight.What Is "Self-Defense | | | | and train it in as many different ways as possible. |
| Stress?"Stress, as it relates to violence, is the | | | | Learn to apply those basic skills at different ranges |
| response to a perceived discrepancy between a | | | | (striking, clinching or on the ground), against different |
| threat and your ability to control it under conditions | | | | partners, against different apparatus and in as many |
| where the outcome has the potential for death, | | | | drills as you can think of. Learn how to set them up |
| injury or physical degradation.The Symptoms Of | | | | and follow them up. Strive to learn a lot about a little, |
| StressStress causes a variety of psychological and | | | | not vice versa.Train to Momentary ExhaustionA good |
| physiological changes. Without getting into the | | | | way to see how well a technique holds up under |
| specifics of those changes, the affects of intense | | | | stress is to train it to extreme fatigue. You can bring |
| stress on performance fall into three categories:1. | | | | on the physiology of intense stress by exerting |
| Perceptual Distortion - loss of peripheral vision and | | | | yourself. I call this "blitz training" in the heavy bag |
| depth perception, hearing may be impaired, changes | | | | article: "There's nothing like a swift kick to the bag." |
| in pain sensitivity, etc.2. Cognitive Impairment - the | | | | on my site at: out a technique or combination |
| emotional centers in the brain become predominant | | | | repeatedly for a specified duration or until you can't |
| and creative or logical thinking is impaired.3. Motor Skill | | | | do it any more. I can guarantee that gross motor |
| Deterioration - the ability to perform certain physical | | | | skills will be the only ones conducive to this type of |
| actions is impaired by stress. However, other actions | | | | training.Keep in mind that you wouldn't do this training |
| can actually be enhanced by stress.Each of these | | | | all of the time. You need time to recover between |
| categories could form an article (or book) of their | | | | intense workouts like this.Obviously you must be |
| own. However, for the purposes of this article, I'll | | | | healthy and in good physical shape to do in this |
| confine myself to information pertaining to the | | | | training. Refer to my disclaimer page for precautions |
| selection and performance of physical skills.THE KYSS! | | | | before following this advice. Is Not InflexibilityA final |
| PRINCIPLE (Keep Your System Simple!)Why Do Black | | | | note in keeping things simple is that the process of |
| Belts Get Beat Up?Why is it that so many martial | | | | specialization doesn't mean that you stop learning, |
| artists get beat up? I'm sorry to burst your bubble if | | | | experimenting or that you abandon your existing |
| you thought otherwise but the fact is that many | | | | training program in lieu of a "bare-bones" self-defense |
| people, even after years of training, have been | | | | program.If you are proud of your traditional martial |
| thumped by "unskilled," intoxicated adversaries. How | | | | arts system stick with it. If you love to jump up, spin |
| can that be?Often people train with a distorted | | | | around and kick things, then by all means, go for it! |
| mental map of what it's like to be in a real, | | | | Just don't confuse techniques that will work in a |
| knockdown, drag-out, anything-goes street-fight. | | | | street fight with those that won't. Apply the science |
| They confuse sparring with fighting and find | | | | of stress performance by adding specialty training to |
| themselves hesitant, overwhelmed by fear or | | | | the degree that you want to develop practical |
| attempting techniques that just don't work.The more | | | | self-defense skills.SO WHAT? HOW TO USE THIS |
| clearly you understand the realities of a "fight" and | | | | INFORMATIONUsing The "KYSS! Principle" |
| the affects of being in one, the better you can | | | | To Evaluate A Potential Specialty TechniqueNow its |
| prepare yourself for the chaos of personal | | | | time to put this stuff into practice: Based on the |
| combat.Motor Skills ClassificationMotor Skills is a fancy | | | | priority you place on "fighting skill." (there are several |
| name for physical actions or techniques. They can be | | | | other benefits and reasons to train) Take a good, |
| divided into three categories:1. Fine Motor Skills - are | | | | hard look at the skills you have in your inventory and |
| actions involving small muscles, dexterity and | | | | the amount of time you plan to invest in |
| eye-hand coordination. The ability to perform fine | | | | training.Decide on what proportion of your training |
| motor skills deteriorates at low to moderate levels of | | | | you want to dedicate to self-defense. Design your |
| stress.2. Complex Motor Skills - are actions that link | | | | system based on the following "KYSS Criteria."=> is |
| three or more components in a sequence that | | | | the technique a "gross motor skill?"=> do you have |
| requires timing and coordination. At moderate to high | | | | confidence in your ability to perform the skill under |
| levels of stress, the ability to perform these skills is | | | | pressure?=> What technique is most successful for |
| also impaired. Many martial arts techniques are | | | | you in training sparring or competition? (however |
| complex motor skills. This explains why techniques | | | | don't confuse those activities with fighting)=> Is the |
| that may work fine in low-stress training fail in a | | | | technique applicable in a wide variety of situations, at |
| high-stress street-fight.3. Gross motor skills - are | | | | different ranges, in different environments, ring |
| simple, large-muscle group actions like a squats, | | | | clothing that you were during your day-to-day |
| pushups and push/pull-type movements. This includes | | | | activities?=> Are you able to construct a wide |
| basic fighting skills like a straight punch, a hook punch | | | | variety of training drills to build adaptability and |
| or a Thai boxer's knee strike for example. Unlike fine | | | | flexibility in your chosen techniques?=> Are there |
| and complex motor skills, gross motor skills DO NOT | | | | techniques that you've selected that are |
| deteriorate under stress. In fact, they are enhanced | | | | redundant?=> Do you understand the underlying |
| by the affects of fear and stress.Obviously we want | | | | principles and biomechanics of performing and |
| to rely predominantly on gross motor skills when | | | | applying the skill with optimal |
| designing a self-defense response system.The | | | | efficiency?CONCLUSIONStress in a combative |
| "Less-Is-Best" TheorySome self-defense and martial | | | | situation is a given. Expect it. It's going to be there. |
| arts instructors believe in the "More-Is-Better" | | | | Your performance is the result of how confident and |
| philosophy. They think that learning a high number of | | | | well prepared you are in addition to how well |
| techniques will increase the ability to respond | | | | designed your self-defense response system is. |
| effectively to a wider variety of situations; that the | | | | Attack the problem of stress performance this |
| more elaborate the fighting system the more | | | | way:=> Simplify your system through specializing in a |
| adaptable it becomes.If you hold this philosophy | | | | handful of effective and adaptable techniques.=> |
| yourself, please forgive my bluntness but...YOU'RE | | | | Artificially create stress in your training sessions to |
| WRONG!!! The More-Is-Better approach does not | | | | inoculate yourself to it to some degree (more on this |
| withstand scientific scrutiny. Complex or elaborate | | | | in future articles) and...=> Select gross motor skills |
| techniques don't work in a real fight. It's as simple as | | | | that will be efficient under stress.Knowing what you |
| that.In contrast, the "Less-Is-Best" approach is more | | | | now know about stress performance isn't it obvious |
| practical, realistic and consistent with what science | | | | that the "KYSS! (Keep Your System Simple!) Principle" |
| tells us about the way we perform under stress. | | | | is worth incorporating into your training? Scrutinize |
| Here are a few of the benefits of keeping the | | | | and evaluate your inventory of fighting skills and |
| number of techniques to a minimum.Faster Reaction | | | | select those that meet the KYSS criteria and you will |
| TimeAs far back as the 1800's, researchers knew | | | | improve your performance in a combative situation |
| that the more responses you have to a stimulus, the | | | | dramatically. The bottom line of what I want you to |
| longer it takes react. In 1952, a researcher named | | | | take away from this article is that if you are training |
| Hicks confirmed that for every response choice | | | | for self-defense Keep Your System Simple!Take |
| added, the amount of time required to react doubles! | | | | care, train smart and stay safe,Randy LaHaie |
| This is widely known as "Hicks Law," and has been | | | | Protective Strategies============== |
| repeatedly confirmed by subsequent research. In a | | | | Self-Defense Quote ================="There |
| self-defense situation, the longer you take to | | | | are no superior or inferior martial arts, there are only |
| respond to a threatening action, the more likely you | | | | warriors and non-warriors""Each martial art is based |
| will be injured and defeated.Fast Results With Minimal | | | | on doctrine, a set of broad and general beliefs. |
| TrainingAnother issue that supports the idea of | | | | People who study a single doctrine tend to shut out |
| keeping your inventory of techniques to a minimum is | | | | ideas from other sources and convince themselves |
| the amount of time you have to practice and the | | | | that their's is the one true way of fighting. They |
| time it takes to build technique competence. | | | | become slaves to the very doctrines they |
| (remember: competence builds confidence which | | | | profess."Forrest E. Morgan, Maj. USAF |
| reduces stress!)Imagine you work on 20 techniques | | | | Living The Martial Way |
| and you train for an hour per session. That means | | | | A Manual For The Way A Modern Warrior Should |
| you have 3 minutes to invest on each technique. If | | | | Think |
| however, you reduce the number of self-defense | | | | |
| techniques to three (just an arbitrary number), you | | | | =========================Randy LaHaie is |
| invest 20 minutes on each technique, conceivably | | | | the president of Protective |
| investing 600% more time and repetition on each | | | | Strategies and has been teaching reality-based |
| one. What technique wouldn't be improved by six | | | | self-defense for over 30 years. |
| times more training?The Brass Knuckle Effect | | | | |