Jul

16

Zubin Al Genubi  writes: 

The martial artist who trains to kill and maim full time ought to beat special forces guy who has to diversify his training with guns, navigation, comm, explosives etc.   To generalize, the one who trains most to maim, disable and kill should win. A good reference is Musashi Miyamoto's Ringo No Sho, The Book of Five Rings.  Fighting is not always about head to head combat, but deception, surprise, unfair tactics, doing the unexpected.

Hernan Avella replies: 

A few notes on fighting:

1. Unconstrained fighting (using objects, eye gouging, groin shots, finger manipulation) is too chaotic, and for obvious reasons has never been studied systematically.  In an event of this nature, size, endurance and relevant experience with the setting are the most important variables. 

2.  In the hypothetical case where a person is limited to learn only one "martial art".  It's been more than proven that said martial art should be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For a high level excellent discussion on BJJ as a system, check the JRE podcast with the brilliant coach John Danaher.

3. The sport of fighting (MMA) is relatively new, it's as close as it can be to a real fight, a few constraints added to avoid catastrophic injuries and deaths, (and some nonsensical rules thrown in there to cater to the bureaucrats of the fighting commissions).  In it's short history you have seen the  quick evolution of the ruleset and the techniques.  Just like in markets, every little rule or artificial limit, causes an inefficiency to be exploited.

4. To be proficient at fighting you need to be able to understand all the intricacies of a fight in different planes:  Standing, on the ground, clinching. Each of these 3 planes have different details depending on the range of proximity to your opponent.  Additionally, fighting is not carried out in discrete steps along the different plains, so you have to develop a sophisticated game for the "transitions".  The number of scenarios quickly explode and a fighter needs to train so much to make a lot of this second nature. It really makes all the other athletic endeavors look easy.

5. Like in markets, the ever changing cycles are very important.  The key variable here is the different superior skills that are disseminated non uniformly. The video tape as a research tool has been instrumental to accelerate adaptation.  Since the early 90's, the sport has seen several phases, each one builds on the previous one:

    a.) Jiu-Jitsu is king. 

    b.) Wrestling and ground and pound and weight-cutting

    c.) The rise of the well rounded fighter

    d.) Sophistication of the striking game

 6. A few things have stood the test of time despite the quick evolution of the sport: 

      a.) Leg kicks, super debilitating they impede mobility and damage accumulates quickly.

      b.) Defensive Jiu-Jitsu (avoid getting blood flow to the brain from being stopped or your limbs twisted), it's easier to defend than to attack.

      c.) Takedowns and clinch game: He who can control the plain in which the fight takes place has an advantage

      d.) Genetic differences and/or performance enhancing drugs are always key.

Finally, practical advice.  If you are about to enter a physical confrontation and your future opponent has cauliflower ears. Don't walk, run!, your life is in danger

larry replies: 

Prison fighting is a separate art unlike any other as it must end instantly before guards come—perhaps the deadliest of all


Comments

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind

2 Comments so far

  1. Nigel Davies on July 16, 2020 4:20 pm

    Rory Miller’s books are worth reading as they offer the unique perspective of a karateka who faced potential violence on a daily basis as a prison guard. He concluded that old style karate training was more useful than many of the contemporary aspects.

    It’s also worth noting that martial arts are practiced for many reasons outside combat training, for example tai chi is used mainly for health in older people so this aspect has been emphasized. More energetic martial arts are used for aerobic exercise, again without a particular emphasis on combat training.

  2. Arthur Barbato on July 17, 2020 8:49 am

    Thank you for this excellent discussion of hand to hand combat.
    In Shubumi the main character, Nicholai Hel, points out that tactics in CQC are largely to be determined by the age of the combatants. Trevanian,the author, whose real name was a closely guarded secret mosst of his life, served in the US Navy and according to reliable sources was employed by the XXX agency. His work is pure and true.
    Prison fighting is best conducted in the yard within ear shot and sight of yard guards so the fight can be interrupted asap. Villains will try to take advantage of you and fighting in the yard is the only way to insure you will be left alone. You can’t keep your head down and hope for the best. You must be fierce and vocal if confronted and a fight can not be avoided.

Archives

Resources & Links

Search