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Combat Training Principles: More Secrets For Staying Alive When ‘Rules’ Don’t Apply

The Ultimate Weapon

There is one weapon that trumps all others, if not directly then at least potentially. What is it, you ask, and where can you get your hands on one? Well, the good news is you already own one. But whether or not you know how to wield it is another thing entirely…

When training people I like to ask some specific questions to better gauge where their heads are at when it comes to criminal violence, and how best to handle it. One of those questions is:

“What weapons do you have at your disposal?”

The answers tend from the obvious (items they routinely carry with them, from pepper spray, to tasers, to handguns) to the improvised (body tools like elbows and boots, as well as briefcases, umbrellas, pens, etc.).

These answers come not just from the uninitiated, but from highly trained and competent military commandos and law enforcement personnel alike.

The primary difference between the operator and the civilian is that while the civilian tends to go for common, everyday objects, the operators will usually categorize the weapons available to them as primary (rifle or submachine gun) and secondary (sidearms, knives, etc.).

To find the real answer to this ‘trick’ question, all you have to do is figure out what all of the weapons named have in common–and, indeed, what all weapons, everything from a heavy club all the way up to a nuclear warhead, have in common.

If you answered, “They’re for killing people,” I appreciate the way you think, but you’re still heading in the wrong direction on this one.

The most powerful weapon–the one that the highly trained operator and uninitiated both fail to list–is the human brain.

That’s what every weapon ever devised has in common–a common origin point. All weapons arise from the ultimate weapon, the human brain.

Unfortunately, this ultimate weapon is often overlooked in modern martial arts and combat sports where the focus tends toward the ancillary tools used by the mind–the various fists, elbows, knees and feet and the many techniques that can be done with them. The flaw is not in the tool–a fist through the throat is going to be a great start to taking care of a bad situation–but rather in where this puts your focus. If you’re training to think primarily about the end of your arm, with drill upon drill for blocking and countering what the other guy is doing, your focus is racked to the wrong position. You’re not thinking deeply enough. You need to be thinking not about the space between the two of you where you’ll attempt blocks and counters, but through the man. You need to focus on shutting off his brain. You need to be thinking inside his skull.

Training for that middle ground–and ignoring the real problem–puts you firmly on a defensive footing. You’re going to be stuck reacting to what he’s doing. In other words, you’re training yourself to let the other guy call the shots. In competition, with rules, this can work out okay. In fact, the rules tend not only to protect the defender, but also work in his or her favor.

But when there are no rules–when that other guy is a killer–you could wind up dead.

While competitive play may favor the defensive, real violence favors the one doing it.

In the ring, waiting for your opponent to overextend themselves so you can take advantage can allow you the opportunity to counter. On the street, waiting to see what happens next gets you stabbed in the neck.

And in that awful situation, if your focus is stuck in that intervening space between the two of you, you’re going to get stabbed again and again and again as you try desperately to block or counter having just been stabbed. Here, being a half-step behind on a defensive footing makes you easy meat.

In criminal violence you want to be the one doing it to the other guy, not the one getting done. And in order to make that happen you need to train your mind to focus on ACTING instead of REACTING.

Instead of a defensive, ‘wait & see’ attitude you need to cultivate a constant state of attack. You need to shift your focus from countering what he’s doing to shutting off his brain.

Use the ultimate weapon to turn the tables and make him worry about what you’re doing. Make him go defensive and try to protect himself from you.

Until next time,

Tim Larkin
Creator of Target Focus(TM) Training
http://www.targetfocustraining.com

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