ARE YOU TRAINING TO HELP YOUR ATTACKER?

By Bradley J. Steiner, American Combato
Years ago, we saw a documentary on TV about violent crime. During the course of the show two young pieces of s––t were interviewed in prison. They were violent offenders. The apparent amusement when they discussed the damage and harm they had done while on their career paths made it very clear that these rodents would be resuming their inexcusable lives of predation when they were eventually released. Neither of the two could have been older than 20. 
The interviewer asked many questions. One of the replies he received stayed with us. He asked: “Did you ever worry about going after someone who had been trained in karate, or some other martial art?” And one of the scum replied: “Dat don’t mean nuthin, man,” he said with a smirk and a giggle. “I ain’t worry ‘bout dat!” And the second lump of s––t chimed in, as the two of them shared a hearty laugh: “Nah man, dem martial arts stuff be nuthin at all. Really nuthin,” he said. “Dem guys who do that s––t can’t do nuthin to us.”
Very interesting. 
We actually understood (and understand) why the roaches in humanoid form have this attitude—and by and large they do—as far as the possibility of encountering trouble from a statistically average student of martial arts is concerned.
To really be able to adapt your jiu-jitsu or karate training to a situation in which a dangerous, violent predator suddenly attacks you normally demands years of training and hard practice. Not years of going to an hour-long class two or three times a week, but years of training hard at a serious traditional dojo four to six times a week . . . for at least two or three hours a session!
Classical arts contain too much bullshit as far as close combat for real is concerned, and it takes a long time to be able to master the core basics and a handful of practical stuff that you’ve gleaned from all the crap, before you can use it aggressively, powerfully, automatically, and with ruthless disregard the second you are set upon. 
Not that those classical/traditional martial arts are “bad.” And not that training in any of them at greatly reduced severity because your motivation and interest and lifestyle just does not permit you to follow the all-out, true classical way is “wrong.” Nope, not at all.
Just understand that if you are in a classical system, it will require at least some years of training as we explained, before you can use it for real. And remember: If you enjoy spending a few hours during the course of a week in a traditional dojo and are satisfied with the exercising and combat-like movements that you’re developing, all’s well and good.
Just don’t be entertaining any ideas of knocking some street-hardened tough senseless if he attacks you for real. For self-defense and close combat, you must train in self-defense and close combat. And that means an all-combat system, a modern self-defense and all-combat system. 
For precisely as the scum whose interview we alluded to earlier pointed out in their disgusting excuse for human verbal communication, violent offenders know very well that dilettantes in the martial arts and/or those with way insufficient training (but who believe that what they’ve acquired will see them through a dangerous emergency) are zero threat to street-smart garbage that have grown up with and embraces mindless violence as a lifestyle.
If you are a “dabbler” and are pursuing a classical martial art for but for a few hours a week, do not expect that you will be able to handle serious violent danger. Don’t lie to yourself, and don’t let any “teacher” fill your head with bullshit, either. And if you’re into classical martial arts, fine. But if you expect your training to be fully functional during dangerous, unanticipated and catastrophic emergencies, plan on hard and long years of training. And we mean training as is done in the Asian countries by the Asian students.
Go over the following points and if any of these apply to how you’re training presently, but you want self-defense and close combat only, then realize you’re not getting it, and you just may be training in a way that makes your attacker’s job easier!

• Does your teacher discount size and strength as being of little importance so long as you possess technical skills? If so, then your teacher is misinformed and you are being taught to discount one of the important factors for success in close combat—strength. Strength (and to some degree size) is not necessarily the deciding factor in hand-to-hand combat, but it is sheer folly to claim that skill alone will be enough. 
• Are your classes 1/4 to 1/3 stretching, limbering, and conditioning exercises? For hand-to-hand close combat your classes should consist of technical practice and drill. Working out can and should be done with weights or some other form of progressive resistance exercise at times other than practice sessions. These workouts are important and should be regarded as serious training. Your techniques done easily at first and then full force should be the only “warmup” you need. 
• Do you practice classical kata as an important mainstay in your classes? If you are in classical training because that’s what you want, fine. But classical kata make no sense in an all-combat, self-defense program.
• Are any defenses that you’re learning very complicated, and/or are they completely situation-specific? These techniques require a cooperative training partner and will not work effectively against a dangerous, violent offender. Quality counterattacks are broadly applicable, and address actions and principles that may be applied in a wide variety of contexts, naturally and easily. 
• Are you being taught that “all fights go to the ground,” and that ground fighting is for anything except sport? If so, you are learning something that virtually every authentic and qualified combat instructor has cautioned against. Despite the widespread influence of this idea (and the popularity of combat sports, where the principle is often true) you should always stay on your feet! 
• Is the clenched fist your primary hand weapon, which you incessantly seek to develop in punching—during self-defense practice and freestyle sparring? The clenched fist is not the most effective natural hand weapon. Serious combat training emphasizes the open hand blows (especially edge-of=the-hand and heel of the hand; with fingertips and clawed fingers also emphasized, along with elbows, head, teeth, knees, and feet). The fist is a weapon, but used exclusively on soft targets—i.e. solar plexus, sternum, testicles, liver, spleen, and kidneys. 
• Are modern weapons ignored, while classical weapons are included in the advanced curriculum? Once again, for classical-oriented students who are not primarily concerned about hand-to-hand combat and self-defense, this is fine. But for the modern student seeking self-defense and combat training, firearms, fighting knives, and the stick (especially the walking stick), as well as a few other modern weapons, should be the order of the day. 

Here, very briefly, is what the core and backbone of a genuine close combat and self-defense program should emphasize and advocate:

1. A vicious, savage, and frankly merciless mindset. 
2. Genuinely destructive, very damaging and harmful techniques. 
3. The need to speedily neutralize any foe—and to do so with ruthless disregard. 
4. Commit to relentless attack when it is necessary to engage an enemy (in war or in peacetime) and not stop delivering punishment until he is completely helpless. 
5. Techniques that are simple, easily learned, practiced, and retained, and that are broadly applicable to numerous situations. 
6. The attainment and maintenance of the highest degree of strength and condition that your genetics will allow. We cannot stress too frequently or too emphatically that actual, real, honest-to-goodness close combat entails risk, and that there is no “nice” or “sanitized” way to defend yourself. In violent combat the most ferociously animalistic, brutal, and merciless generally wins. 

So, by all means acquire a commitment to that constellation of phenomena, and back it up with a solid repertoire of war-proven combat skills. If you heed our counsel your training will be productive of reliable, workable, valuable skills upon which you can stake your life in a dangerous emergency. The last damn thing you want is to learn an impractical classical or sporting approach that frequently results in the one who attempts to utilize it actually helping his assailant to defeat him.