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It is essential to have the mental strength to deal with setbacks and the patience to get the opponent under control, even while he’s hurting you. Then you can start working to improve your position, which might be a long and painful process.
A more rational opponent chooses his moment and makes the most of his opportunities with appropriate techniques. If a given avenue of attack is not working, he switches to another. He may set up a chosen attack by doing something else, for example throwing punches at the head to draw the opponent’s attention upwards before launching a low takedown. If he spots that his opponent has a habit of doing a certain thing, he will find a way to exploit it.
The will to fight and win, and the ability to think quickly even under the stress of combat, can be summed up as the ability to function in the fight environment. Without this, there is a tendency to either fold up under pressure or to resort to blind, repetitive attacks, which may not be the best option under the circumstances. A fighter who can function effectively in combat can make the most of the tools at his disposal—but he still needs to have some.
Everyone has some combat “tools” of course. Kicking, screaming, biting, and scratching can be enough to deter or drive off an attacker, and an instinctive haymaker punch can drop him in his tracks. However, better tools are more effective. It goes without saying that well set up takedowns, properly executed punches that deliver maximum force and submissions applied from a strong position are far more likely to succeed than desperate flailing.
It is better to have a small selection of “tools,” i.e. techniques, that are simple and easy to use, and to practice them until they can be delivered effectively under various circumstances, than to collect dozens of complex and impressive techniques that may or may not be much use. There is nothing wrong with knowing a dozen clever variations on the guillotine choke, but it is more important to have a basic, vanilla-flavor version that can be quickly applied when the opportunity arises.
Vast technical knowledge is an advantage of course, but application is far more important. The choke you apply may not be the best possible version but once it is on the opponent has to deal with it. That benefits you more than trying for a technically impressive variant and perhaps failing to achieve anything at all.
There are other advantages that a fighter can have. These include a superior understanding of tactics, better fitness, and of course size and strength. However, none of it matters if the fighter fails at the first hurdle—the ability to function in a fight environment. Adequate training will provide skills and improved fitness, probably along with a reasonable understanding of tactics. Good training, on the other hand, will tie it all together into a highly effective package and enable the fighter to keep his head under pressure. This in turn enables him to make best use of the advantages he possesses.
In summary, what makes a fighter effective is the possession of workable techniques and the physical ability to use them, the fitness to keep fighting long enough to win, and sufficient familiarity with what might happen to choose a suitable response to any given situation, all tied together by the ability to keep evaluating the situation and formulating strategy accordingly. Driven by a strong will to win, this package is formidable indeed.
It is, however, a package, and must be developed as one. Simply improving fitness or developing technical skill in isolation may not be enough. An understanding of tactics is only valid if the fighter is able to think rationally in combat and make use of his knowledge; otherwise it will only be useful for figuring out why defeat occurred. The goal that should underpin all forms of training is the creation of an effective fighter rather than the development of a single asset or technique.
No amount of fighting skills are worth anything unless you are willing to use them to harm someone. Some people find that harder than others, so an important part of your training is to build that willingness to fight and win.
CHAPTER 2
Functioning in the
Fight Environment
The Fight Environment
The “fight environment” is a term used to refer to the various factors surrounding a physical confrontation. These factors are partly physical, partly psychological, and party environmental. An understanding of the fight environment is necessary for any serious attempt at preparation, and helps avoid unnecessarily losing a fight.
Many people think that training martial arts techniques is enough to guarantee victory over a less skilled opponent, but the reality is that technique is only a part of the puzzle. No amount of skill or physical prowess is of any use if the fighter folds under pressure or fails to make effective use of his abilities.
Nothing ever goes according to plan against a resistant opponent, so you need to train with “aliveness” to prepare you for the chaos that you will encounter when fighting anyone who isn’t a pushover.
Techniques that seem straightforward in a martial arts class can become very difficult when attempted against a resistant opponent or under severe stress, so training must not only give the fighter the tools he (or she) needs to win a fight, it must also prepare the fighter to function in the fight environment. Good preparation includes all three dimensions—technical, physical, and psychological—and addresses the most likely situations a prospective fighter may find himself in.
The first question that has to be asked is: what is the fighter training goals? There are strong parallels between the sporting environment and “street” self-defense, but there are also significant differences. Even within the sporting arena, there are different kinds of competition and the fighter needs to be familiar with the characteristics of each. Last-minute ringside questions about whether kneeing from the clinch is permitted in this event are the hallmark of the unprepared (or perhaps just forgetful) fighter.
It is always necessary to consider environmental factors. For the sport fighter, the question is generally whether the bout is to take place on mats, in a ring, or a cage. This can be important—being slammed or taken down hard on a cage floor may be an unpleasant surprise for the fighter used to training on good mats, and surprises are best avoided. Tactical use of the ring or cage can also bring benefits to those who know how to do it or how to deal with those who do.
For the more general martial artist, perhaps training for self-defense, it is not really possible to predict where an incident might take place. Training needs to take account of the possibility of confined spaces, passing traffic, uneven or slippery ground, poor lighting and so forth. The principles of effective combat are the same, but some techniques are simply not appropriate to certain environments. For example, most kicks are impossible to deliver in the aisle of a train or bus. This is not to say that a martial artist needs to undergo specific training in every possible environment, but he needs a broad range of techniques and the ability to decide what is appropriate in any given environment.
Focus pads (some people call them hook-and-jab pads) are an essential and versatile training aid. The can be used to train many different techniques, but it is essential that the pad-holder knows how to absorb the bigger strikes if injuries are to be avoided.
Focus pads are most commonly used to train hand strikes, for which they are ideal. Wearing heavy gloves for pad drills has the added benefit of building the muscular endurance necessary to keep your hands up during a long fight.
A fighter who is training for a sport fight knows when the event will take place, and what the rules will be. He knows that he will not suddenly be attacked with a weapon or by his opponent’s friends. He also knows that the bout will be matched for weight. It will be timed and a referee and