Sunday

On the floor......

Ground Survival has three parts -

1. Safely Landing - using break fall and rolls if you trip and fall, push to the ground or are thrown.

2. Defensive actions from the ground - covering up and shielding to avoid be hurt or knocked out and deal some damage using strikes and kicks.

3. Safely getting up - regaining your standing position quickly and safely, without exposing our self to strikes and kick as we get up.

I spend lots of time teach people to do the same things over and over. Land safely, ball defense, then bicycle kick then tactical get up. Regardless of the situation we repeat the same tactics and work on ways to get there. If you have few options, you start to work your way to that result. This is is the fundamentals that we add to.

Remember we are looking to escape and safely get home. Its not a wrestling match or UFC championship bout where we have to hang about. Stun and run. And if we are on the ground we need to get back up.






Land safely, ball defense, bicycle kick and get up and escape.

Tuesday

Default setting

Default moves
The moves you go to first and always. You dont think, you run the default program.
In most of life you have a default program for everything.
Think about getting up in the morning, you will often so the same or similar things.
Hit snooze, sit up stretch, kiss your partner, go to the toilet, wash you face, put on kettle and so on and so on.

Most morning it will be the same, ok maybe on monday you set the coffee machine before going to the bathroom. This is your Monday default program.
Same for self defence. You do what you have been trained to do over and over. The repeated, unconscious movements that you dont think about.
It is often harder to teach a trained person than someone who has no training. Example several people have come to me for training in techniques for their job as a security guard. However their back ground is Muay Thai. Nothing wrong with the art. Highly effective striking and kicking art. Not the best to use in public situation.

So a guy throws a punch, bing their default setting kicks in. Parry, dodge and strike. Oh-no you just lost you job and face assault charges. Programming.
So we work on setting up self defence default setting. Including a program of awareness, escaping, avoiding, talking, defending, striking and running (for security we set up different programming, similar to above add more control than striking).
In defensive actions we work double shield, 360 defense, helmet and dive. yes there are other reactions.

Most of moves work on you natural response to an attack.
Without training your default setting maybe fear, freeze, flight or fight.
We develop the ability to control fear, we train so we can remove the freeze portion by giving you default setting. We enhance you flight response so you get out safety and if you need it install simple, easy to learn and highly effective fight tactics.

When is ask people what they would do in an attack scenarios, I get run, poke them in the eyes, smash in the throat or knee them in the balls. Great tactics until I grab them say in a wrist grab or get in their face and we get fear and freeze.

If they have trained in other arts I get the most train response if that a spinning hook kick that what they do. Boxers box, strikers strike or kick, grapplers wrestle. That their program. Its learned skill. Dont get me wrong they can be great moves. Even get you out of trouble. But watch a boxer get hit in the nuts or a mma guy get an accidently poke in the eye. Something that out of the normal, and get a different reaction. Boom no default setting.

Working with a friend Karate points sparring Champion. We are have a friendly spar, he has very quick hands, so he would punch out at my stomach score a point and back away to his line to await the ref's decision. I wasnt in the same league, not by a long shot. So i change the rules after he attacked me i would continue with my attack and punch him in the head. His agruement but a full power punch would have stopped you. so we padded up (safety first). We start step in full power shot to the stomach, Its hurt a little, but I walked through it and punched give him several hard shots to the head (lucky for helmets). Different reaction now, My default setting is keep on going even if hit or injury, something that comes from Filipino martial arts, BJJ, Muay Thai and Krav Maga training. That a different mind set and programming.


To train you every scenario or situation not possible.
Give you a series of default programs that you use over and over in many circumstances.
Whats your default setting and how can we help improve, enhance or install that programming.

Saturday

One against Many

 (this is an older post that i reposted to the top)


Today lets break down the ways many people could attack you
(this is base format to make it easy to identify the attack, to help you make defensive strategy)

1. All from the front
2. Front and back
3. Front and side
4. Hold and Attack (where one grab you so the others can strike you)
5. Circling
6. On the ground

There are a couple of ways that they could approach and if you are aware you would switch position and get one of the above.

1 Side to side face one and now it front and back
2. Side and back turn now its front and side
3. All from behind turn and now its all front

Now someone always says what if they sneak up on you and king hit you and it does matter if it one on one or group of 3 or a gang of 20 there is not a lot to do if you dont see them.  If the first attack doesnt knock you out, cover up and start to work your way out to safety.

In multiple attackers I still apply the rule move, control , destroy.
I also use SMS rule
S - stack and shield - use object like tables, car , chair and even their buddy to shield by stacking them in line to make it hard for them all to attack you at once.
M- move, move, move and keep moving hit, strike and ipoke, but dont be a stationary target.
S - stay standing, we do not what to be on the ground, stay on your feet. If you are on the ground, we need to get back to standing swiftly and safely.

This SMS rule stop us from doing the Jackie Chan movie moves and stand in the middle and fight from there.  This is bad, Bad, BAD. you will not be able to deal with all the arms and legs with the limited weapon, namely 2 arm and 2 legs. Its now 4 arms and 4 legs agaisnt your 2.

Monday

Control first not bash ém

We teach a lot about control

Why you ask, we deal with security and transit guards who need it for their job.

And one of the most common occurances is incidents that happen at family gathering.  Where friends may have had one too many festive drinks or broke up with girl friend or lost job.  So they lash out or start a fight.

Now I dont want to punch my friend out or knock out my sister boyfriend (even if he's being a dick). Not only may it result in a trip to the hospital, answer to the law, but may also result in lost friendships and unrepairable relationships.  I dont need that and students dont need that. 

So we teach control principle. Yes there is place for strikes and kicks, if you are looking for control the odd strike or kick can be inserted as we transition to control.

Control is also a great method of breaking a fight, moving the fight outside or even used for rescue rescue techniques.

Now we dont have lots of moves, we only have a few, we drill the so you dont forget, can use them under pressure and move from one to another when you get the "what if.......?" question.  We also show you how to use them in different situations

We start again on 12th jan and we will be looking at fundamentals
Basic strikes, blocks and controls
Learn the helmet best technique for not getting knocked out int he first 3 seconds (so good i have used it muay thai, mma, bjj, self defence and even taught to kids for anti bullying)
Learn how to use footwork to increase striking power so even girls can hit hard and we teach you open hand techniques so you dont break a nail
Learn what to do when they start to break out of the control, where to go next. And how to get back to the helmet if it turns into a shit storm.
Learn some basic kick counters
learn some basic combo attacks and how to counter them.

Pictured below the helmet and the harness
come and learn them both