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MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FITNESS TRAINING
Achieving Real Results !
What do I do if, ?
What should I do when, ?
Is our attacker a grappler ? A boxer ? Or maybe an undisciplined street fighter who's flailing arms and legs ? Is he holding a stick, a knife, a pistol ? Each different scenario will demand a different response, the same as we would expect with different types of kicks or strikes.
What about location ? Are we in a busy commercial enterprise such as a public restaurant ? What would be the difference if we're approached in a parking lot ? What if someone walks towards us while we are alone gassing up our vehicle ? Pulling into our driveway at home, or leaving for work in the early hours of morning ?
Who's with us ? It matters if we are alone, or with our wife or a friend, what if we have the kids or an elderly person with us ? We must always consider the safety of those nearby, whether we know them or not.
One step at a time...
When do we strike out ? When do we run ?
We must accept the fact that all these types of problems require quick decisions…even when we have limited actual experience with the situation we face. This is 'thinking on our feet', and will help keep us from 'wondering what went wrong' when we then find ourselves on the ground, from inaction, or the incorrect response to the physical threat at hand.
Here's where the old adage about the two F's comes in, although in STREET SMART we are going to discuss three. Most instructors will mention the 'Fight or Flight' complex, where we make a conscious decision to run away, or stand our ground and defend ourselves. But there's another consideration and we must decide, quickly, which of the above choices we will pursue.
Fear and adrenaline will surface, and "fear" can lead to "inaction" - a freeze mentality. It's best here to think of "fear" as "extreme alarm". A time when we, in natures own way, prepare to "fight or flee". We can run or back-up, or go into an attack mode, what we don't want to do is stand there and become an easy target like a "deer in the headlights" on a dark winding road.
The natural reaction most folks have to an aggressive, or violent individual, is disbelief ! Most of us are not used to extreme behavior such as physical aggression.
What we have to do is let this "extreme alarm" condition work in our favor when fighting back by harnessing the extra adrenalin, but remember, if we haven't trained enough (or seriously enough) so our moves are instinctive, we can't expect to perform at our best.
Basic moves like the "chin jab", "ear slap" and "side kick" ( all learned in the STREET SMART 'Basic' class ), are the easiest to remember under stress, but it's still crucial that we practice with realism. Strike hard when hitting the heavy bag or when kicking in practice. Practice is what conditions our minds and muscles to react appropriately.
Simple things like pinching the inner thigh and upper arm do work, remember and use them when appropriate to break free from someone trying to overpower us or place us in a hold. Simple moves really can be effective.
Bending a finger back ( never two ) can get us loose from a hold, and give us time to react with the appropriate next step.
'Thinking', using our heads, ahead of time, is the proper answer to solve any of the above questions. We prepare ourselves for the worst by visualizing such scenes as we each may come in contact with in our personal lives…prior to them actually happening. This can be acted out with two or more individuals in class or at home, and is referred to as mental preparation while role playing.
If you are a banker, or small business owner, ( although the same lessons apply to all of us whether you drive a bus, or read electric meters ), it would be wise to adjust our thinking to scenarios that might actually happen to us in our daily life. Here, for starters, we would suggest a walk across the street to our neighbors yard. Look around at your own property. Where would someone be able to easily hide in wait to rob or molest us. If there are such places, alter your landscaping or lighting to avoid this situation. Most important, be vigilant !
When we turn onto our home street, check the rearview mirror. Look across the street from your home, what about next door, is there a strange vehicle parked nearby ? This also applies to parking lot situations, at work, at play, shopping, everywhere we go actually. These are simple things, but more than one individual has been kidnapped or worse, from just failing to be observant of their surroundings.
Keith Powell and Russ Welch, Street Smart graduates
A bad guy will usually prefer to have surprise on his side, they tend to seek out targets which they feel are weaker and unprepared to put up a fight. Vigilance and attitude can help keep them at bay. It's always better for us to avoid conflict if possible, and punks usually only want to attack if they think they will easily win. If we give them the impression they may be hurt, or not get away with our valuables, they will most likely continue searching for an easier target. This demands we walk with confidence, not with our heads down and shoulders slumped. Nor should we do the reverse and stare at bully types, this can easily cause them to turn aggressive. There is a fine line between displaying confidence, or appearing to be a 'smart-ass'. Proceed with caution…
Being observant is the first step in personal protection. The best we can do to avoid being robbed or attacked is to be aware of our surroundings. This includes not allowing ourselves to be surprised, or by letting strangers enter our personal space when we are alone in places like a parking lot.
When gassing up your vehicle, don't stand there with your hand on the nozzle daydreaming. Look around before exiting your vehicle. Be observant while starting the fill-up, keep your head up and eyes open while waiting for the process to end. Be prepared for the worst. This isn't paranoia, its using safe rational judgment, like purchasing insurance.
The same goes for talking on a cell phone, digging in your purse or briefcase for a certain item. We see it every day, people lost in their own little world with no idea what is going on around them. Wake up !
Are you a jogger ? One that is so bored with being out in at least the semblance of nature that we would rather listen to music with our ears covered by headphones…lost in another world trying to not realize we are tired, breathing hard and with oh so much distance still to be covered ? Oblivious to what is happening around us ?
What about that noise in the night while we are sleeping ? Have you ever really thought out how you would respond to a home invasion ?
Okay. Let's start right there in the bedroom in the middle of the night. Tonight, when you and your partner get ready for bed…turn the lights off as you usually do. If there is normally a night light, that's okay, we want the room, the entire house, to be as it usually is on any given night.
Give yourself ten minutes at least of laying there in bed, actually, we do not get our full night vision for about thirty minutes, but this will do for our walk-through test. Now, with the wife staying put, get up and walk through the house alone. What can you see ? What can you not see ? What normal sounds do you hear ?
If you have puppies, or a cat maybe, there might be a couple of 'squeaky' toys on the floor…good, you know where to expect them, the burglar won't. Look at the TV set in each room where you have one, and the microwave in the kitchen. Doe's the front glass have enough ambient light on it to reflect a picture of the rooms image ? Can we turn it slightly to one side or the other so we can use it like a mirror, to see through a doorway to the next room without being seen ourselves ? If we're sleeping upstairs, try positioning yourself so you can get the best view of the stairs and stairwell without being in the open where you will be seen.
After you have roamed around a bit go back and let your wife make the same darkened tour of the house. Then do so again together while you discuss your observances and possible alternatives.
Just what can you do to improve you and your families chances ? Think about it now, not when it's too late. Is your cell phone next to the bed at night in case land lines are cut ? Do you both have 911 as a one-punch number on your phones ?
Some suggest having your car keys and alarm button next to the bed. Hear a strange noise ? Push the alarm button to set it off. May disrupt the neighbors sleep, but it might also spook an intruder into leaving the scene.
Do you keep a firearm close to the bed ? Have you used it enough to be able to find it in the dark…and release the safety ? With a handgun, most folks are better off with a revolver, even an inexpensive one, no safety to contend with and steady pressure on the trigger will assure the gun will fire when a cheap semi-auto may only discharge once without shoving another round in the chamber.
Prefer a shotgun ? Most will find this the best answer versus a handgun, especially if we are not serious about repeated practice sessions of target shooting and familiarization with our chosen weapon. The shot pattern spread will usually find its target where a single bullet may not, especially with your heart pumping blood and adrenalin at ten times the normal rate.
Too, most handgun ammo, and certainly all rifle ammunition, will penetrate through sheetrock walls as if it were paper. What about the kids in the next room ? Or the kinfolks here for the weekend ? Even our neighbors walls could be penetrated with the larger calibers. Think ! Birdshot will discourage an intruder in most cases and not hurt an innocent victim across the street or alley.
While we're at it, let's be honest about guns equipped with night sights and even flashlights added on. Sure, they both look cool, and serve a purpose. We sell lots of them at The Shooters Club, and for those who use them properly they're a good addition to a quality firearm.
My best comment on 'glow-in-the-dark' types of handgun sights… they do make the weapon easier to see and locate in the dark. Fire one round though, and it's over. After the muzzle flash you won't be able to see your own bed, your night vision is now history, so we better make sure we hit what we aim at the first time, and for good measure, pull the trigger a couple more times, IF we know our target and the exact location before we're blinded by that first flash.
There's a lot more on this type of problem, and some good answers, at The Shooters Club web site ( click on the Tactical icon on your left for additional free helpful hints ), here in these pages we need to concentrate on open hand combat... just thought it wouldn't hurt to push you into thinking about your options.
And, always remember…
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