The Adrenalin Rush and The Shakes

The natural reaction of the body to stress is the fight-or-flight emergency response. As mentioned in the section on fear control, the immediate physiological response is to prepare the body for either fight or flight. This includes an increase of blood flow to the brain and muscles as well as an increase in strength and energy.

If this energy is not dissipated within approximately 10 seconds, through the fight, the energy is lost through a shaking or trembling process. Your aim in any fight is to attack before the energy level peaks. Use that energy boost to defeat the opponent.

If the opponent allows their energy level to peak, without fighting, the shakes will set in and they will be incapable of reacting positively.

Distracting the Opponent

The ideal time to launch an attack is when the enemy is not prepared for it. Always try and hit first. When the enemy is either faster, stronger or prepared for your attack, distractions become necessary.
The following tacticss may be incorporated into your training programme. As your skill develops, you will appreciate the vital fractions of a second and control that these distractions allow you.

Throw.
Throw the nearest object to hand. Make the opponent flinch, blink or stop. This form of distraction will give you a fraction of a second to make your own move.

Spit.
Spitting can make the opponent either blink, vomit, draw back or lift their hands to expose the lower targets.
Spit out anything that happens to be in your mouth at the time of the confrontation.

Feint.
Before carrying out a definite attack, such as a punch, either pretend to or actually use a kick. This tactic will make the opponent act in a predictable manner.
Develop your own personal set of combinations.

Shout.
Shouting and screaming can be used in order to dispel your nervous energy and disorientate the enemy.
By shouting or screaming, you can make the opponent temporarily freeze. The shouting approach can also make your own attack much stronger.
As with all forms of distraction, the enemy may over react or panic. Because of this factor, the voice must be used in a controlled manner and immediately followed through.

Breathe.
Your breathing can also be used to strengthen your attack and confuse the opponent. This can be done by hissing or grunting as you move or attack.
Consider the boxer's mode of breath coordinated striking. Just before you strike, you tense up your stomach muscles. Before the strike lands, either grunt, hiss or blow out half your lung capacity.

Move.
In many fights, the opponent will be operating with a limited level of consciousness. The opponent will both "telegraph" and persist in using the same technique. The simple act of either kicking or using a straight arm strangle will induce the opponent to copy you. Both these situations can be used to your advantage.
Combatants are usually motivated by fear or blind hatred. It is not normal for them to think tactically and respond positively to their opponents attack. Attacks are usually focused on the position of the opponent. The simple act of stepping out of this direct line of attack can confuse the attacker.
Try to remain mobile during a confrontation. This will disrupt the opponents timing and concentration. If your opponent is circling around you, disrupt their timing by either stepping in or out with a side step of your own.
If your opponent is right handed, move round them in an anticlockwise direction. This will keep you away from the much stronger right side of their body.
At other times encourage the opponent to move forward. Their momentum will add more impetus to the force of your attack.
Chapter 2 will contain much more detail on this factor.

Talk.
Talk to the opponent and find out what they want from you. Talking may help to reduce the tension of the situation. It will also leave the opponent more open to attack.
Vary the volume and speed of your speech, this will force the opponent to focus on your voice.

Ambush.
Leave the enemy an obvious opening in your defences. Once their anticipated attack is initiated, you can counterattack.

Pretend.
Pretend to be afraid, injured, dead, competent, brave, stunned or mad. Do anything to disrupt the thinking processes of the opponent. Create a mental block in the opposition and then use the opportunity this creates to either attack or escape.

Speed

Every individual varies in the degree of speed they can generate in either offensive or defensive techniques. This fact is based on the normal physiological differences.
Other factors can affect individual speed and reaction times. These include, mental alertness, physical well being and the quality of individual combat training.
In sport combat, reactions can be sharpened up with a warming up session before a contest. An opportunity for this procedure never presents itself close combat. In this situation, optimum reaction times and positive responses will be dependent on the quality of the training programme.
Not all fights will be lost because the opponent is much faster than you. Slow reactions can be compensated for in many ways. For example, attack first whenever possible, after that, use distractions or combination attacks.

Initiative

Initiative can be defined, in the military sense, as making the first move. This behaviour will force the enemy to conform to your movements.
Taking the initiative away from the enemy places them in a more vulnerable position. Not only have you taken control of the situation physically, you have also taken a more dominant position at the mental level. All distractions are examples of initiative.
Initiative is not just the prerogative of the team leader. It must be fostered in all members of the team. Individual initiative can be fostered through the employment of a structured training programme. Such a programme must be based on the team mission. It can have built-in problem scenarios that simulate the expected operation.
Individual passive or active behaviour in these scenarios should become more innovative rather than indecisive or inappropriate. This training should produce individually motivated, self-reliant soldiers who are always thinking one move ahead.

Improvisation

Improvisation involves the adaptation of basic techniques, principles and readily available objects to achieve the team mission. The principles of improvisation and initiative are closely related. Both demand a high degree of flexibility and originality from the thinking processes.
The mind set required for initiating action and improvising on the on the battle field can be enhanced by using a combat orientated training programme.

Impulsiveness

Once you are engaged in combat, there is no time to think about specific forms of attack or defence. Your behaviour must be impulsive and more instinctive. This can only be achieved through contact training with an active training partner.
In many sport combat systems, you will receive a grading by displaying standard responses to standard attacks. In close combat, there are too many variables involved to use such a dogmatic mind set. Your response to an attack must break all the rules, the opponents in particular.
After you establish a basic competence in any technique, you must go on to develop variations. This will make your style much more unpredictable, impulsive and instinctive.
Do not waste valuable training time by practising in the sterile mode of bag work. Punch bags are useful for developing combination attacks, timing, distance, impact effect and power.
It is imperative that you go on to sparring sessions. Here you can apply combat techniques on a living, moving opponent who is retaliating and exploiting all of your weaknesses. Your techniques will never be perfect, in this situation, but your impulse to act positively will be much keener. This form of training will also make your reactions much more instinctive.

Impact Effect

Some forms of sport combat award points for perfect strikes. Because no full contact takes place, the effects of these strikes are very speculative. In combat situations you will be faced with someone who moves and even retaliates. Perfect technique is either impractical or may not have the desired effect.
At times, the enemy may absorb a punishing attack without registering any pain. This may be due to either fear, knowledge of impending death, shock, drugs or fighting spirit. It may take four or five strikes to create the desired effect. One strike text book kills must be abandoned for a more flexible and sustained assault.
Impact effect on your own body must also be explored from two perspectives.
First, you must experience the opponents attack in order to assess your ability to absorb the impact and react positively.
Second, when you either hit or miss an opponent, the effect will be entirely different from the experience gained on the punch bag. For example, a side kick to the opponent's midsection can throw them at least eight feet away from you. You may also be propelled back several feet. At this stage, the opponent may be temporarily winded without serious injury. They are now at a safe distance from you with time to recover. If you have not experienced this form of incident, you are in a very vulnerable position. The opponent is down but far from being out of the fight. This is particularly true for a ground fighter who will no longer offer you the chance to use your superior kicking.
Practice all techniques on an active partner and learn to follow up on everything you do.

Direct Attacks

For economy of space, the techniques illustrated in this text book are all direct attacks. Single technique direct attacks are not always successful.
Your initial attack can be used as a feint. The feint will allow you to observe how the opponent reacts. Feints can also be used to create an opening. This will be discussed later.

 

Combat Appreciation (S.W.A.T.)
The experience of fear, on the battle field, can disrupt you tactical thinking. In combat appreciation, you must learn to focus your attention on four basic factors.
The practical consideration of these factors will help you to assess both your situation and the appropriate course of action. These four factors are:

S trength

W eapons

A im

T errain.