Odds

I've written about odds, probability, before... a subject near and dear to my heart. For example, that having good skill as a fighter doesn't guarantee a good outcome on the street, just better odds that it will go your way. On a given day, the best team can loose to the worst. Anyone that touts an Unbeatable System is naïve or a liar.

And while it's common and understandable for students to think "If simple sparring can easily not be 'pretty' then how much more difficult and messy will a real fight be?," the good news is that a basic one-to-one confrontation can be much easier than sparring for several reasons. The first is that a stranger doesn't know your game, as a training partner would be. Second, the average mook has telegraphic habits. Third, in sparring games (and that's what they are, let's not kid ourselves), you are not really jabbing your partner in the eye or throat, so it of course continues when in it wouldn't in reality. Even the emotional aspect can be easier in a fight: in a controlled setting you can afford to be nervous, whereas if something happens more suddenly in the street (not always but commonly), it's a "Go Now!" situation that doesn't give you the luxury time to be nervous. I have a student where just such a thing happened, and without going into details, he dealt with things quickly, smoothly and efficiently, and then when he was back in his car, he started vibrating. He asked me "Was I afraid and just didn't notice it at the time?" and I said No, it was just that now he was feeling the adrenalin dump. Had the confrontation played out longer, that could have been a problem, but it was over quickly enough for that to not be so.

Just A Thought

Certainly people quit martial training for many reasons; lack of money; getting too busy with work-related things; family issues; or even maybe they felt they learned or experienced what they wanted and that was good enough. But I was talking with somebody at a party recently who mentioned having studied martial arts for a while. Sounded like he quit, as I believe many other may have, because at some point he intuited that was he was doing was just rote technique and not something that felt real somehow even if he was not clear what "real" would be. I think that's a more common thing than is acknowledged.

Drill Post #27: False Strikes

One of the more underused but useful tactics for entry is the "false strike." A false strike is a full strike not intended to actually connect, but close enough to draw a response. Note that the difference from a fake is that a fake/feint is usually a body indication of a strike that doesn't really get thrown. The advantage of a false strike is that it can be more convincing than a fake, but if the opponent tries to time-hit (strike at you as you are striking at him), then you should be just out of his range, and if he responds with a simple hand defense without moving out of range, then you are that much closer to changing up your strike or jamming up his hands.

To play with this, A throws a false jab or cross at B, and B throws a looping right or left (to use common punches) which should not be close enough to connect if A is controlling his range, OR tries to block A's strike. A responds to the attempted counter-strike by following in with a real strike, and responds to the attempted block with either another strike or a trap.

As with any drill, work at a speed that helps both partners.

Interview and Video

I recently did an interview with some video bits with Matt Numrich. Check it out at:
http://www.jeetkunedonewsletter.com/18-steve-grody/

Drill Post #26: More Environmental Training

Another environment that is good to do some work in is the stairs. Problem solve being on the low side, high side, or both on the same level.

Also, around corners. Going sharply around corner of a building structure, whether on the street or in a building gives you minimal time to see something coming (even just another innocent pedestrian that you might bump into). I recommend the habit of going wide, and leading with your eyes. For that matter, coming out of a door into the street, it's a good idea to scan comfortably from left to right (if it's a normal outward-opening door) just as a not-too-paranoid habit.

Drill Post #25: Environmental Training

It makes sense that most martial arts training starts with a simple ideal environment: a smooth surface for stand-up training (no rocks or curbs to trip on), mats for groundwork (no pesky broken glass to roll on) and so on. When I have been in dodgy areas documenting graffiti (the second third of my professional life), I have been aware of the unfriendly surfaces, such as big river stones at one of the locations. I tried moving around and found no easy solution. The good news is that it would also be unfriendly for an opponent.

One environment that is more common for most people to find themselves in than under a bridge going over the L.A. River is their car. Clearly, there are numerous scenarios we can think of in this regard, such as how to get out of your car in a guarded way or timing the opening of your door as part of a counter, but let's start with a basic, someone trying to grab or hit you through an open window.

I'm not presenting a curriculum here, but suggesting that you play with possibilities such as using your covers and parries from the driver's seat. Also the perimeter of the open window is a good surface to grind or slam an attacker's arm against. Further, an attacker is generally not expecting you to pull you into his relatively stable position and continuing a counter attack with strikes, ripping and other effectively unsavory tactics.

I suggest you don't work with this kind of training where good citizens will either try to step in and help, or call the police!

Drill Post #24: Fakes

There are many ways to train and use fakes. This is one way I like to develop the conviction, or "sell" of a fake. By "sell," I mean that you are trying to make it look real enough that your opponent will respond as though it's real. A certain amount of the technique is like acting, they must feel your intention to hit.

The striker is at fighting measure for the hands, and throws either an actual jab, or a jab fake. Separate the strikes at this point, because it's not about combinations, but about the quality of individual strikes. The goal of the striker is make the defender try to block a fake, and the defender's goal is to see if he can distinguish between real and fake and only respond to the real strike.

Though that is the core drill, you can add on that if the defender tries to block the fake, then continue the jab, which in effect turns it into a "delayed" jab, and if the defender tries to block a "real" jab, then try to disengage to another strike without him being able to touch you.

As always, work at an intensity that works for both of you!