Fight Larger Opponents- “It dunt work like that”

21/07/2007 by richie.

“How do you deal with larger, heavier opponents?”look its like this… we are physical beings with limitations, nobody would bother to sit around pontificating about whether a chihuahua could battle it out with a rottweiler would they?

but could the chihuahua survive?

sure if it bolted out through the cat flap that the rotty couldnt fit through!

I listen to some of Bob’s stories about his time in the SAS… you know if a small special forces patrol is engaged against a larger opponent.
I thought it would be like Bravo Two Zero where they 8 men would kill 180 (allegedly)
but its not
they basically make like the knights in the holy grail and RUN AWAY!!!

ok its very tactical “running away” (whilst dishing out damage), but the only damage dished is just enought to achieve that primary objective of: running away

Now

you have said that you feel insecure… so do I so odes everyone reading this, you are amongst friends
I imagine that you think, “God if only I knew how to deal with that big bastard I would feel confident in myself”
Well, like the man in the advert says “It dunt work like that”

here are some SP /martial art favourite topics, go to any website and you will see the following categories:

-knife defence
-gun disarming
-larger opponents
-multiple attackers

What do these have in common? they are the stuff of nightmares, quite literally for some people

But the way in which we address these problems locks us into the limitations of the solution

Ok, say I do a “fighting a larger opponent” DVD

You buy it

You put it on

before reading any further wirte down what your expectations are

what would you expect to see? what would you expect me to talk about?

Ok

You have me in a room with my friend who is much bigger than me… it is a spacious room or a gym

what shall we do?

How to palm strike the head of a taller opponent

strikes to the body

head controls for taller opponent

kicks to the legs maybe?

anti grappling against a heavier person perhaps?

improvised weapons?

all in this one to one, spacious clean perhaps even matted environment

Can you see how much this limits us??? It has totally limited our thinking!!
Our job is to come up with solutions that allow us to move towars our objectives

WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE?

If you fantasise playing out a jean claude van damme/seagal/bruce lee barroom scene beating up the local thugs I cant help you

I cant guarnatee you will look cool or that you will feel good during or after or that you will be safe or that you will come away uninjured or that you wont get some kind of ptsd effect afterwards or that you wont get in trouble with the police or a gang afterwards

Its a fight… its a bloody big shovy, sweary, clothing rippy, glass breaking, furniture spilling, girlfreind screaming mess

Can you think of a situation where you absolutely have to fight a larger opponent unarmed? face to face? in a square go?

I tell you what, I love to write and I have a very active imagination and it stretches me mate, it really does!
Its like trying to think about the circumstances where I would be foreced to face a handy slashing knifeman on my own with no weapons, face to face in a square go…. when and HOW has this happened?

Its just not very likely at all- but not impossible so yes, sure prepare for it…. but lets keep a balance
Why dont RBSD/SP/STREET FIGHT practitoners spend a long time doing the traditional martial art thing of working defences against mawashi geri kicks and reverse hand karate stepping in straight arm body shots?

thats a genuine question… now I dont know your level of skill/experience and I have been accused several times recently of taking too much for granted and presuming that people know more than they do, so if Im going to slow here I apologise I dont mean to patronise you- this is also for the benfit of other people reading

WE (meaning SP practitoners-for want of a better term) dont spebd hours working defences against those types of traditonal martial art attacks because….

“It dunt work like that”

Its pointless! Nobody is going to present a problem to solve like that and a TMA defence (downward block or whatever) wouldnt be the best solution to the problem even if we were asked that type of “question”!!!

We get locked in with our own paradigms which form the limitations of the solutions we offer

Use your imgaignation

and remember we have all been socially hypnotised by films and tv shows
from buffy to kung fu to dark angel to beleive in crispy neat solutions

how do we work against that effect? well use the same context (films) but differnt content… I dont expect to stand in the middle of the group kicking people one at a time in the face like bruce lee in the big boss…. I expect to beat the fuck out of the prick (swearing done consciously -its good NLP telling neurology to gear up!) like joe pesci in good fellas or the pen scene in casino!

Im creating an expectation in my mind (my mental map of the world) that more closely fits the reality of what the experience will be (the territory)

The map is not the territory- THE TERRITORY IS THE MAP!

Ive been around a lot of violent incidents and Ive never,
never been set upon one on one by a realy big guy- they tend to be more placid (read:secure in themselves) than overcompensating short arses like me (read:little man syndrome) ANYWAY

Ive had to restrain them, choke them (from the back and with help- Im Not stupid!), Ive banged guys bigger and heavier than me inthe face and had them shrug the punches off (they both got lumpy faces after but no KO) so whilst I am “game as foook” I am not stupid

On the other thread the reason why I mentioned the rock troll scen in LOTR is because I really think its helpful to expand and exagerrate the problem and come at it afresh without all the nonsensical presuppositions and assumptions that have been culutrally fostered:

“fight like a man” or “duke it out” Im not John Wayne and I dont have a stuntman to get filled in for me so pardon my french but F$%K THAT FOR A GAME OF SOLDIERS!!!

Your bigger than me and your starting on me? You cheating bastard

(Size and strength are weapons that give an unfair advantage thats why combat sports have weight divisions)

Right you have just given me carte blanche to do beat the shite out of your skull BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

You want techniques for doing it? Nah, I dont think we should play that game… lets ramp up our state (into full code red sociopathic berserker blood lust) and just see what happens

You want to know how to deal with any unfair scenario?
larger opponents, multiples, weapons, ex grilfreiends, rock trolls (see exgirlfreind)
go and study a few Loki articles and get into that midset, go back and rewatch No Doubt No Fear

but dont…do NOT… please! think for one minute that anybody has a mgical solution to this problem, no system or style will be able to give you a better solution than when all else… ALL ELSE (you must try and avoid the fight) FAILS… get stuck in, egage with rage,hit with hate and have the samurai attitude of :
You cut my skin
I smash your bones
You smash my bones
I take your life

use reasonable force obviously

and remember thermopylae

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“Knocking the Heart Out” - Musashi and Zen for the Modern Bushi

13/07/2007 by richie.

” Knocking the Heart Out-

When you fight and adversary and appear to win by your skill in this science, your opponent may still have ideas and, while appearing to be beaten, still inwardly rufeses to acknowledge defeat. Knocking the heart out is for such cases.

This means that you suddenly change your attitude to stop the enemy from entertaining any such ideas; so the main thing is to see that adversaries feel defeated from the bottom of their hearts.

You can knock the heart out of people with weapons or with your body or with your mind. It is not to be understood in just one way.

When your enemies have completely lost heart, you do not have to pay attention to them anymore. Otherwise, you remain mindful. As long as adversaries still have ambitions , they will hardly collapse.

In both large-and small- scale martial arts, knocking the heart out should be practiced thoroughly. ”

The Water Scroll
-Miyamoto Musashi 1643

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Loki has a rant: technical nerdification vs real violence

11/07/2007 by richie.

I love it when Loki has a rant… he swears a lot, the sentence structure is wafty and spelling is bad so please forgive him (not that he cares whether you do or not)

Reading Loki when he is a rant is a really good way of brining you back to earth I find. Back to reality. With a thump. Probably the Thump of Loki’s fist connecting with some poor persons skull. Martial arts intrinsically tempts us towards over intellectuasion and nerdification…. why? its in its essential nature - because by necessity it is a systemised studyyou cant do violence “non violently”- remember to keep that violence there in your training.Here we go….

“Techniques”, “Favorites” and “TACTICAL Delivery System”           

 How many times do you see people advocating simple techniques and tactics in the self defense field? What you will find on these people is that they are usually the ones that are “technique collector”, a common question that they like to ask is “Can you give me a list of your favorites techniques?”(And those who likes to discuss the issue between palm striking and fisted strike for years), they are also the ones who likes to analyze about a strike FOR EIGHT FUCKING PAGES! GIVE ME A BREAK!

DO you ever seen people in boxing gyms discuss about the right cross every two days in a week? Yea, yea, yea now you are going to tell me they are sport fighters. If you apply the same format in the different manner (Which you should) from realistic sport systems into your self “defense” (you know about the deal) arsenal, you can take away much of the bullshit. The format here is ATRRIBUTES FIRST, with a few simple techniques.

 In a real “Do or DIE” combat situation or a drag out street fight, you are probably will want to rely on one or two hard hitting effective shot combined with gouging and maiming tactics etc. So, what matters here is, for the holy living Christ sake DO IT WITH FUCKING HATE. Destroy them, go bat shit, maim them, NOW you, YES YOU, step out of the way and let your inner animal, demon, or whatever that is to take over, a lot of the discussions on techniques are just plain nonsense and are ludicrous idea when some is REALLY trying to TAKE YOU OUT .

Other attributes you need include, strength (Emphasizing on Brute strength and explosive strength here. Strength endurance and speed strength.), reaction time, agility, coordination etc. THESE are the stuff you want to load your “weapons” with. Not silly mumbo jumbo tactics. “Favorites”, the list located on my computer is call favorites, which has no fucking thing to do with fighting. Stop discussing and start working.           

  Another group you often see are “Tactical SURVIVAL, URABN destruction” and “REALISTIC Military combat System” (Yea, does that even make any sense). These groups often attract many people (I am not talking about the ones with navy pants and tactical gears, they are not in the self defense field, they are masters of hypnotizing themselves, others and movie directing)

Anyway regarding these tactical guys, they are pretty much like the people I mentioned above, but these are the people that teaches these ideas. Always, check, analyze yourself before enrolling into any program, a lot of the stuff out there which is popular and recommended by so many “experts” are actually being unrealistic even it SEEMS realistic (Remember what I said about hypnotizing?)

 I know this article won’t offend anyone,

because

THOSE IDIOTS DON”T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

THE END         

  

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Badly photocopied Zen and finger mutilation

02/07/2007 by richie.

 

“The Zen master Gutei made a practice of raising his finger whenever he explained a question about Zen. A very young disciple began to imitate him, and whenever anyone asked the disciple what his master had been preaching about, the boy would raise his finger.

Gutei got to hear about this, and when he came upon the boy as he was doing it one day, he seized the boy, whipped out a knife, cut off his finger, and threw it away.

As the boy ran off howling Gutei shouted, “Stop!” The boy stopped, turned round, and looked at his master through his tears.

Gutei was holding up his own finger. The boy went to hold up his finger, and when he realized it wasn’t there he bowed. In that instant he became enlightened.”

This is one of my favourite Zen stories

“oh it so unZen to have a favourite”- shut up weakminded buffoon and listen…

In any filed of human endeavour, or indeed anywhere where humans get together, people will be very quickly assigned taks and roles and a pecking order will be quickly established. This is necessary, it is itrinsic to our genetics as pack animals.

In martial arts and in psychology I see this kind of imitation going on all the time. Watch out for it. Not in other people. In yourself.

In martial arts you will get guys teaching the same techniques as their teacher for the skae of it. They dont know what they are for, they dont really understand them. But teacher does it… so will I.

Have you ever noticed in martila rts clubs how often the head student develops the same hairdo, facial hair and dress sense as the teacher?

There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself some things are worth modelling and some things arent. It is making the distinction that is important.

The distinction between “form” and “essence”. Gosh, doesnt that sound a bit grand?

Essence means that which is essential, that which is absolutely necessary.

Form is just the packaging it comes in.

Its easy to get the two confused and that is where some people start to do some criminal damage. Mindlessly pumping out the form whilst having no idea of the essence is far worse than just shunning the teaching all together.

The form of the Zen master Gutei’s actions are absolute violent cruelty.

But the essence is absolute kindness and compassion. Takes a lot of bravery to be that kind.

Idiots will say “that means that you can chop off peoples fingers to enlighten them”… No… you have confused essence with form and you are no better than the kid imitating Gutei.

Why is it criminal to engage in this kind of imitation. Because you will be believed by people who are gullible and want leadership. That is called “ripping people off” where I am from.

I know plenty of psychologists who fall into the same trap.

Do you know anyone who is into NLP?

If you do… do they change when they start to talk about the subject?

Not all people who are into NLP, but some people really change when they talk about it in a way that is quite unpleasant. Same as when people discuss Zen. Why? Because these subjects, these words impress people. So some naughty characters will shamefully use these teachings as a crutch to prop up a flagging sense of self and to dazzle people with cheap, shallow imitation.

This will then be copied by another nitwit and the bad photocopying process goes on… till most of what is in circulation is a load of shit.

Then everytime you come into contact with someone who is into NLP or Zen (in your world view now:  a load of bollocks propagated by a bunch of wankers) would you be at fault for switching off?

Speaking of NLP… fans of Richard Bandler. I can spot so called would- be NLP trainers who are Bandler fans straight away by the mediocre half assed way they “model” (copy/imitate/ape- in their case that is what these idjits reduce modelling to) Bandler… usually taking all the Form but none of the Essence

i.e. they swear a lot, some brits even affect a slightly american twang (this makes my soul curl in on itself with shame), they are rude and provocative to their clients, off hand and dirsepcetful about the clients situation, overly familiar and slightly nasty

what they miss is: compassion and skill

Bandler has it by the bagful and if you just APE his demeanour without putting in the time and dedication and work (work? yes work, the fucker has been at it his whole life!!!!! you think youre going to get that good after a weekend course? hahaha!) you are just coming across as a bit of twat with a superiorty complex

Frank Farelly when asked about his strategy for doing provcative therapy:

first line “I move straight into my heart chakra and generate love theiriwhich i let pour out of my eyes and smile…”

I dont know exactly what that means for him, but Im going to go out on a limb and guess that when he seems to be ridiculing his clients and being mean to them… something else may be occuring at the same time… I mean Im not a mind reader, Im really just guessing…

Authenticity

the opposite of Imitation

Osho’s comment on the story:

“Now, imitation cannot lead you anywhere. Imitation means that the ideal comes from without, it is not something happening within you. You have a seed within you; if you are imitating others that seed will remain dead.

Gutei must have been very, very compassionate. Only out of compassion you can be so hard–the imitation has to be cut severely. The finger is just symbolic. The boy has to be shocked severely, and the suffering must go to the very root of his being. A very intense moment of awareness, a very great device…

Gutei shouted, “Stop!” In the moment of stopping there was no more pain. Just out of old habit, when the master raises his finger the boy raises his–which is not there. And for the first time he realizes that he is not the body–he is awareness, consciousness. He is a soul, and the body is just the house. ”
Anything we do just for show… or to please otheres… or to try to meet other peoples needs… or to work to get a pat on the head from some mentally projected parental/authority figure…

… will be cheap and hollow.

It either is yours or it isnt.

But dont fucking copy me or I’ll chop off something more valuable than your finger 

 

;0)

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