One technique - one defense

I can't count the amount of times I'm asked to provide the one technique that can solve a physical confrontation. Everything from a semi-innocent wrist grab to some insane ninja attack. Not looking at the probability of the attack it's nearly 100% that every person that has asked me that question wanted one single answer. And looking at at many schools/dojos and such many of them try and provide at single answer.

It's not that I'm not a fan of simplicity, it's more the focus on it. It tends to forget the opposite of the answer.... the what if what you did didn't work or isn't working. How do you get back into "the game".

What if you are mentally and physically out of balance (hit and maybe hit hard), how do you get back? Since we can't pratice being hit hard ie. the head, how do you really know how to get back in "the game". If you've never been "out there", how are you sure your learning how to do it?

The only way is to practice the "it didn't" work scenario; allowing yourself to be pushed hard in areas you don't want to be. Most people will in advance, since they know the scenario, already before the they start have mentally and physically prepared themselves to "do it right".

Knowing that what you do works is good, but remember that isn't the real mindset the day the bells ring. So your really not working the scenario and getting better. Your setting yourself up for a bigger surprise than expected.

I believe that when somebody asks for one technique for one attack it's always at least two things you have to practice  the wanted response and "a failed one" were you have to work to get into place. So when somebody asks for the one technique, tell them you have to at least practice 2......

The same technique

Yesterday we were working on breaking out of a headlock. Being a jujitsu and aikido practitioner I’ve tried my fair share in my time. Everything from practical moves to more fun but unpractical.

What really hit me was while I was teaching, that my thoughts were going through the “that this move is from jujitsu – that style, and this is from aikido” and so on. What really hit me was the moment I doubted myself not really knowing if the movement was from 1 style or the other. It was then I came to see them as the same. It wasn’t really the technique that was different but the principle behind that was different. A greater understanding on the Blooms taxonomy levels.

So when teaching I don’t know were the technique is “from”, but use the terminology and ideas the student knows. If he’s from jujitsu I explain using that terminology and techniques, and from karate I use  those. Students might think what they have is unique to their style, but that’s because they are only on a low level of understanding on the Blooms taxonomy. Or as some have put it, level of substance understanding.

Mental training of Scenario Training

Training in scenario should be more than just running physically through a scenario. It should also incorporate "the why we react as we do", since that will be the core of your reactions when you need to react.

Our minds work by focusing at one thing at a time, and the concept of multi tasking is just an illusion, were somebody shifts fast between tasks. What the minds strength is, is to recognize what i'ts experiencing and find a reaction that fits to it. It uses a lot of subconscious process and known reaction types, some more basic than others.

In stressed situations these sub conscious process and reactions surface and define what you'll be doing. At the same time a shift towards gross motor skills is seen, making it difficult to do fine/complex motor skills. Scanning's in the brain show a shift from using left/right part of the brain to more right sided, pushing logic and  objectivity in the background. Making the reactions more intuitive, illogical and emotional.

Depending on how the stimulis "hits", you primal reaction may differ from fight, fear or posture, linking your reaction type to the commonly know as the fight-flight-fear-(posture) theory.

All this just happening in that split second, altering your perception of reality and altering your emotional/psychological  state.

Ensuring that your Scenario training has part of it's fundamental training is ensuring that you can do what you have to in a stressed situation.

Scenario-what is important?

As many of you know, I'm writing down everything I know about scenario training. I'm thinking about making a book of it. It's a hard process and easy at the same time. The first part of just getting things written down seems easy, but I can already see that there are overlaps and inconsistency of what parts to be first. Not to talk about pictures and drawings that are consistence with each other.

My experience started all the way back in 1988, when I went into Aalborg Selvforsvars & JuJitsuKlub. A dojo that had realistic training in their program, where we some times went out in the local parks and did reaction training. This consisted of a route through the park were the students were scattered on different posts. One post would be a strangle  another just a sobbing woman, another would be a knife attack were some were fully view able while others were more predator types either by persuasion or ambush behind a bush were you couldn't see them).

Us teachers would walk the student through the route, knowing the attacks, and could evaluate on the 3 phases of a physical conflict.

This training sometimes was taken into the dojo, so everybody could learn from the different aspects; successes and the less successful.

As time has past, and I got older, many different ways of training scenario have been tried, both old and new. Books, videos and meeting with different teachers have given much information to work with. With all this information there is one basic question that is important; what is it REALLY you want to learn from what you are doing(the scenario your are to embark on)? With out this you might just be thinking about the scenario in your sofa at home, nice and comfortable without you really learning anything.

To many teachers just put up a sequence of situations and call them scenario training, which isn't totatly wrong, but isn't more than the first step; the recognition of a scenario. As see in Blooms taxonomy this is only the basics - being able to comprehend, but there is no learning or understanding and most important no working on how to use this. real learning comes when focusing on what you want to learn, and need to learn.

So next time you step into a scenario pratice, make sure what you want to learn and at what level.

One Breath

I teach alot, being it Martial arts, self defense or some of the management stuff at my day work. A part of it is stepping into a situation and start teaching on a subject I ain't necessary 100% into. It's stressful and dealing with customers you have to step into character.

Last class go me thinking about preapring to a situation you know you are going into. A lot of self defense is about not knowing and getting into the "fight" from that situation. But some people will know in advance that they are going into a situation. Learning to prepare for this is also a part of the training, and making this preparation as short as possible.

Taking " a step" back and see how to set up and get ready many use rituals. Some sports people have a certain ritual they run through. Some entertainers have special quotes or movements to set the right frame of mind. I've grown up with martial arts, and meditation associated to it., in some schools very elaborate breathing techniques while in others, just three quick deep breaths. Also in some classes certain gestures like bowing or making hand/arm movements, the same each time, were a part of the daily training ritual.

But the breathing was the single most thing that connected directly to my core, both physically and mentally, and connecting it to training(and by time) and teaching, it became my mental and physical button.

Stepping into a situation mentally and physically aligns my body and mind, and makes it more focused, when I do one breath. A strong tool for getting prepared on short notice. Practice your breathing, and connect it to what you want to use it for..

A copy or are you yourself?

Meeting up with two good friends, that both are very competent martial artist, we started a discussion about the teachers/sensei's and coaches we’ve meet through the years. All of us started about 35 years ago and have meet and tried many different teachers. Typically we started off in the city were we lived, with the teachers that were there.  At seminars new connections were made, and off we went trying new stuff.

Looking back some teachers were really good, while others were really bad. And even some of the good teachers probably wouldn’t be that good after all these years, but we meet them a place in life were they had some good stuff to helps us on in our quest. And then there were those that stood out, and even do. Both the good and bad teachers. Both of them rare in their own sense, but both of them have left an impression , thus influencing our lives even now.

I was thinking about writing an article about honoring all the teachers, sensei's and coaches I’ve been influenced by. But after our talk it got me thinking about “influence”, and what it is. A good teachers gets defined by what I feel brings me forward to what I think is my goal, and the opposite for a bad teachers. Acknowledging that even a bad teacher at the time did give me experience to understand and evaluate were I was.

From this I wanted to write a list of teachers to honor them for the fact that the experience I have is based on their influence. I found myself writing down every single teacher, the good and bad, even people who didn’t do martial arts since they influence my way of thought and possibilities. I know that I’m the sum of my experience, but still it surprised me. But what surprised more was the fact that each time I thought of a “bad” teacher I became aware of what I did learn by having that teacher.

There is a side of me stating that if I had be a student of the “right” teacher I would have learned the correct way. Bu this experience showed me that if I didn’t learn the “wrong things” I couldn’t really understand what I was doing now – I would only be a copy of that “teacher”. And between the two… me or a copy, I’d always pick being me.

Linage, is it important?

Linage has always been important. It tells something about who your teacher /school is. Look at business (Harvard , MIT and so on) or the UFC. Getting connected to the right school, gives you a basis for doing well. It can’t guaranty you success, but they have proven that they know some “tricks”, and as a minimum you get these “served”.

Even when you’re out in life, referencing your “linage” can be a sign of quality. But really what counts is how you utilize the stuff you’ve learned. You can have the best credentials and the best teachers, but this doesn’t mean you automatically do “magic stuff” or the right things.

Being able to build on your experience, and be able to make it work for you is something you are. Teachers and Schools can set up the learning environment and optimize the learning experience, but it’s up to the student to learn and to “get it”.

So when Sense’s/teachers/coaches boast or reference there “linage”, it’s just part of it. And if you look at Blooms taxonomy, you’ll see it’s just the lower part of understanding/learning. What really counts is the understanding and being able to share, analysis, elaborate and use what you have learned, which is the higher part of Blooms. So look at the students, and see how well they perform.

When looking at performance many parameters should be considered, from a technical point of view to a social relationship standard, were the 2 mentioned are the most dominant.  The technical view is for many “easy” to see compared to the relationship overview. Physical techniques can easily be shown and tested, while relationships are built on known and unknown rules, and the corresponding dynamics can be hard to see. But it is here you’ll see whether a teacher helps build his students, and sees them as individuals or he sees them as possible clones of himself.

A student will never reach their potential if the teacher/coach doesn’t give them the possibility to grow and evolve. The questions is how to see this, since every school or dojo, has some requirements that are fundamental. Some of them are pure technical and sometimes quite many, were a couple of thousands don’ the most I’ve heard, while others concentrate on more the mental part. These two extrems are easly spottet for what they are, it’s when they mix and only fill small parts of the “school” or are downplayed. That’s what you’ll look for.

Another “trait” is to look for the “super sensei”. He’ll have answers for everything, and nothing but his own fit’s to what he’s doing, even the most obvious. Doing self defense is doing what works, and if you can have success by running around in big clogs, smoking a joint… prove it and do it… if it works.

So we are back to … what works… linage might be important, if it works, and see if the students can get it to work for themselves in any area and you have a school/dojo that will give you great basis for doing your best at selfdefense.