If the SOB or SOB’s that attacked me have been stopped I want to be the first one to call 911 and I want to be sure that I insist repeatedly that the SOB’s be arrested immediately (even if they are not breathing). I want those around me to know that I am the good guy and will ask if everyone is alright; I will ask if anyone knows why these morons continued to attack me for no reason, I will ask if anyone requires assistance… in other words, I want to ensure that I am perceived as the victim under all circumstances.

My rules of engagement are ingrained into my mind and practiced on a regular basis under various scenarios. I will make NO statements to law enforcement nor to those around me without the presence of an attorney as “I am in a state of shock at the moment… you will have to excuse me but I need some legal advice here and am requesting an attorney with all due respect. May you inspect my vehicle, my person, my home, etc., ? Sorry, you will need to speak with my attorney about this as I am in no fit mind, having been attacked without provocation…. please summon medical help for me as I feel ill and would like to be examined by a physician.

KNOW YOUR RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. Train hard and defend yourself to the best of your ability without regard to the feelings of the bad guys or their friends. You are probably fighting for your life, especially if your are carrying. They will take that gun and use it against both you and your family while you watch.

Will I lose sleep? You betcha I will. It will have long term effects on me and that is precisely the reason that I want to train and know what my rules of engagement and actions are going to be. And so should you.

I have had a gun stuck in my nose and the next time it happens you can be sure that the perp is going to be going home feet first. Period.

Back in the past when it came time to compare decade trained swordsmen against militia troops, the militia lost out. When technology changed, soldiers and training of militia or short term troops super seceded the combat power of those that had decades of training. More experience was always better, but on the battle ground, there was little difference in results. Or not enough of a difference to matter.

The same is true for those relying upon physical ability and brute force in hand to hand. The years of training required for that can be functionally replaced by an advantage. That advantage being OODA, surprise force multiplier, and KISS.

The comparison between swordsmen and riflemen stipulates a technological difference. A better example uses what in today’s world would constitute guerrilla or militia forces against professional US units. In an even contest, the US would win. But the enemy of the US cheats and so they can win that way or at least draw.

If you ain’t cheating you aren’t trying. Unlike physical strength and dexterity, you neither need the genes nor the lengthy training time to learn how to cheat.

Let me ask you this,why are you studying any specific MA art or system?
If it’s purely SD (then choosing a buffet style system such as any Krav version or hybrid system should suffice. You won’t be the best grappler or striker, but you will be able to do a little of everything and you will have the mentality of applying it in a street situation. However, this does have its downside. Do you want to train and exist in a “red alert” state, constantly preparing and envisioning that possible fight to the death lurking around every corner? Do you want to risk “fighting as you train” where your brain will go on autopilot without considering consequences? In Canada we can only use sufficent force to nullify the attack. A simple fist fight, responded to by pounding the attacker into uconsciousness, carotid choke holds, or pulling a knife on an unarmed assailant, if there are no other aggravating factors, will land you in jail. The old justification of to be judged by 12 or carried by 2 was never stated by anyone trying to make bail, losing their job due to criminal charges & paying a lawyer.

Then this brings us to the individual arts. Most ma’s do have some sort of street application. Some are more suited to fighting than others, like the slow flowing forms of traditional Tai Chi may have a martial legacy, but realistically it is an inner art versus an outer one. Another consideration is that some traditional ma’s take years of dedication to perfect or reach the point where the techniques could be employed on the street.

As for SD and traditional ma’s, here’s my opinion.
No matter how good a SD system is, it will never replicate the experience of mastery of the underlying art. A boxer practices throwing thousands of punches with the goal of setting up and landing a disabling shot. By huge quantities of repetition, minute attention to technique and coaching specific to the art, a boxer is a lethal hand striker. A SD practioner punches with the goal of just being good enough to repell an attacker and with the mindset that if hand strikes aren’t sufficient or appropriate then other techniques can be used. On the other hand, a boxer might be more prone to hand injury by fist fighting, than a karate practioner who will employ a variety of more protective style hand strikes. But a boxer with a street mentality will know enough to go for body blows, know how to take a hit, have great hand speed that can put a rapid finish to a fight before it transitions.

Most SD practioners are not able to generate comparable power or ability to someone who studies an individual art. A telling point is that Israeli Krav Maga Federation (UK) has an instructor requirement of at least 4 years boxing/kickboxing with good punching and kicking abilities, in addition to the SD background.

This leads me to these conclusions:
If your primary goal is to learn the most SD applications in the least amount of time then chose a system, any system.
Remember the least amount of time can be relative too, because if you determine you want to advance rank in a SD system most of them also take years to complete. In some systems, specific techniques such as disarms, that you might personally consider vital to your SD, are only taught at higher levels or through invitee seminars. Especially if you plan on only devoting a year or two, then pick a SD system. The average person only sticks with any ma, traditional or not, or ma club for less than 6 months. Also, most SD systems will claim to take on anyone regardless of fitness level.

If your goals are fitness and mastery of technique then choose a specific ma or cross train in a set of ma’s. It is far more efficient to be coached by someone who specializes than by someone who tries to fill in all the gaps. These arts would be in this order: boxing, muay thai, judo, bjj, fma. For street applications, I would pick up some seminars for knife or gun attacks or just supplement your training with some SD sessions. You won’t wind up with a certificate to chronicle all your accomplishments, but you will be a good fighter, in and out of the ring. It doesn’t take much to apply those “dirty street tricks” when you have superb underlying technique. Even maybe then, like so many others, you’ll become a SD instructor.

I still have a lot to learn and don't look forward to the day when I have to prove just how much information I've absorbed. Until that day, walking away is fine – and much easier now.

Anyway, excellent article and info as always.

Years ago I practiced TFT principles without even knowing it. Three friends from work and I were going out for lunch after a half day of teaching high school. It was going to be lunch and some serious male bonding and hanging out into the night. We stopped at the local pub and as we walked in the door a very large and muscular man bumped me and pushed his way ahead of me into the pub. I held my ground to some degree, but he outweighed me by 100lbs easily. My friends gave me the "what was that all about" and I just shrugged and said "I don't know that guy went out of his way to bump into the smallest guy of the group".

We sat down to order some lunch while that guy sat at the bar and stared us down while drinking a beer. A few minutes later, he walked up to us and very politely asked us if we were going to be here for a little while. We responded that we were staying for lunch and he politely said "oh ok" and walked out.

A minute later the bartender came up and asked us what happened and we told him how he just bumped me and we didn't have words or anything. He then informed us that the guy just said that he was going down the street to get his crew and come back and kill those motherf***rs.

We all agreed to leave at that moment and go somewhere else. It would have been very easy to play the role and say "there's four of us and we didn't do anything so we're not leaving. We could have relied on the bouncer and the fact that we were in a public place during the afternoon.

However, we still to this day tell the story and we ended up going on to have a fantastic night after the initial adrenaline rush wore off. I'm sure that this would have been a much different memory and night had we stayed to feed our egos.

Thanks again for all that you guys do to help prevent violence as much as you help to protect from violence.

Our society in America is a bit of a mix. A dangerous mix. Still got the alpha male aggression thing about territory and social status, still have some people armed with something, but society does not have the Code Duello or a modern equivalent and it is not nearly monolithically armed or trained.

Some are polite, others are not. Most situations are due to misunderstandings, but can escalate.

Chris R is right on a psychological level that it changes things if you decide to diffuse a situation rather than being forced to retreat. If you choose that situation, based upon your own analysis, you are not a wimp. You're the protector, the leader, the wise visionary, so to speak. If you decide to act, it is war. If you decide to act slightly differently, it can be peace for all.

That is an important decision to make. But you must have the confidence to choose what you see as the best course. IF you think your options are limited, due to fear of the other guy's aggression, you become motivated in striking out due to fear or you become motivated in backing off because of fear. Neither increases people's confidence. Taking counsel of one's fears is not a particularly good idea when decisive action is called for.

Instead take counsel of what you value. If you value a law abiding environment, where people are secure and free, then you must help contribute to such an environment. Creating problems where they didn't exist, upsetting more pacific individuals or families out to have fun, would be indecorous.

There comes a point when it doesn't matter whether you get hurt or not, live or die. If you can make a decision based upon all the odds, when everybody else is losing their heads, you've acquired a very nice ability to make decisions under pressure. That's useful both personally and for greater society.

TFT can help by giving you the tools. If you will be the one that chooses to be the decider.

Carlos
TFT Student ]]> http://www.targetfocustraining.com/moral-victories-dont-come-easy/comment-page-1#comment-811 Anonymous Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:48:30 +0000 http://targetfocustraining.com/moral-victories-dont-come-easy#comment-811 Regretfully, while in my youth, I was always quick to judge, had a bad temper, the type where I would jump out of my car and pound on the jerk tail-gating me or who ran me off.<br />Then one day, coming out of a restaurant with my wife, 1 year old and 5 year old, there was a group of salty looking dudes sitting on the hood of my beautiful BMW. I a split second, I rationalized from visually picking out who I would strike first to what might happen to my family if one of them got one in on me...I could see my wife and kids screeming and crying...all this mind you in less than 1 second!<br />What happened was that I calmly smiled at them...and said "hey guys, is it ok if we leave now?" They almost jumped off my car and for a moment I thought I saw a hint of embarrassment by a couple of them.<br />My kids are now 25 and 21, I'm 50 and I'll never forget that moment. I could take you to that restaurant and parking spot right now.<br />Walking away is a victory. Regretfully, while in my youth, I was always quick to judge, had a bad temper, the type where I would jump out of my car and pound on the jerk tail-gating me or who ran me off.
Then one day, coming out of a restaurant with my wife, 1 year old and 5 year old, there was a group of salty looking dudes sitting on the hood of my beautiful BMW. I a split second, I rationalized from visually picking out who I would strike first to what might happen to my family if one of them got one in on me…I could see my wife and kids screeming and crying…all this mind you in less than 1 second!
What happened was that I calmly smiled at them…and said "hey guys, is it ok if we leave now?" They almost jumped off my car and for a moment I thought I saw a hint of embarrassment by a couple of them.
My kids are now 25 and 21, I'm 50 and I'll never forget that moment. I could take you to that restaurant and parking spot right now.
Walking away is a victory. ]]>