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Rapid fire responses In the world of reality self defence, we should all know by now the importance of applying the pre emptive strike when you know impending violence is ready to kick off. But sometimes we may not be as 'switched on' as we would like to, we may have mentally let our guard down. This means the attacker will get the drop on you and you will have to rely on your reflexive skills plus your defensive tactics. You must train these skills regularly so that you can call upon them when the heat is on. If you are attacked, you will be initially on the back foot and your natural 'flinch' reflexes will come into play. The 'flinch' reflex is important for your survival. It is the impulse that pulls your hand back from the heat of a fire or makes you shift back quickly from a barking dog. It is nature's way of protecting you, so you must use it to your advantage. Most people see the reflex as a weakness, they feel they should stand solid and tall in the face of danger but this is not always the best tactic. If you are caught with a surprise ambush attack, you will always flinch. It is how fast you react from this flinch that will determine the outcome. In my training, I get students to stand with their eyes closed and they cannot open them until an opponent grabs them in some shape or form, then they have to immediately focus on the attack and deal with it. This simulates as best as possible the feelings of a surprise attack. There will always be vital seconds of delay whilst your brain registers what is happening and sends a message to the muscles to respond. Forget the simultaneous defence and attack nonsense, that only comes with prior knowledge of the assailant's attack but if it is an ambush or sucker punch you aren't working with prior knowledge otherwise you would have pre-empted it or escaped in the first place! It is easy in training if I know what sort of attack to expect. Let's say that my attacker is going to grab my coat lapel, in response i simultaneously trap his hand and counter strike. Easy! But if I tell him to attack me with anything he wants, then that is a different matter, plus remember you are still waiting for an impending attack. If you didn't have a clue it was coming anyway then you cannot react that fast, no matter how good you are. You need to train fast reactions after the flinch reflex. This is where it counts, to be able to mentally and physically counter attack and get off that back foot. You should practice fast rapid fire striking combinations varying the targets and totally 'blitz' the attacker until you are safe.
Learn to chain your strikes together in a flowing fashion just like machine gun fire. ' Use joined up handwriting and not block capitals' . Speed and aggression are vital to keep your upper hand. ( Check out my special forces hand to hand combat techniques DVD - see products page) Train these strikes from close up and in your face. This is where you will have to use them, not from four feet away! Learn to be explosive over an 18'' to 12'' gap. Use hands, elbows, knee and head in rapid combinations, battering through your attackers defences. You must keep going until they are down or you can escape. I have found over the years that many Martial Artists have found it difficult to strike with any power or accuracy when the attacker is right up in their faces. They want room to step back or stance up. In the real world you will not have this time or luxury. Train out of no stance, work in tight corners, backs to walls. Make it difficult for yourself, pressurize yourself so that you can react and explode from very short range. Also remember that real attackers are fuelled with emotions ( anger, rage , jealousy, hate ) so use verbal dialogue, swearing, insults, whatever to make the scenario real. ( If you haven't done this, it can seriously hamper your responses .) Any defensive tactics must be trained from close range, as this is where it will be, like it or not. Nine times out of ten it won't be of your choosing anyway. The accompanying photographs cannot show the speed and time the techniques were executed in.
Needless to say, these combinations have to basically flow from one to another giving the attacker no chance of stopping them. Bring these ideas into your training and it will improve it no end, especially if you are interested in reality training. We know by now if you hesitate in a 'live' situation it will go to grappling on to the ground. But remember 99% of fights will start on there feet .this is the crucial time when the day can be won or lose, By all means train for the ground but do not neglect your close quarter stand up skills. Remember only to use physical response if there is no other option, but if you have to be a 100% committed and be rapid fire in your response.
Recent media coverage of the ever increasing violence on our streets dictates we all need to have the skills to defend ourselves when the 's..t' hits the fan'. Get the right training and you can walk a little more safely and feel more confident about yourself. This is why after 30 plus years of training I am still training. You can take nothing for granted no matter what you know or how good you might think you are. Kevin O'Hagan
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