To become fearless is not to be our primary purpose or pursuit; this point is critical. We have but to observe the world around us to see the frantic and neurotic behaviors of others.
In having trained ourselves to scan our environment, evaluate the immediate surroundings and filter out potential threats, we can place fear in check. Our reliance on intuition is, as courage, a complete opposite of fear.
When we speak about neutralizing fear, it is not speaking with regards to the cessation or elimination of all phobias. It is quite unhealthy to foster being completely fearless. There is place and time for when we should be afraid and too, those things in which we should fear. Fear is not always wrong; in fact true fear becomes for us a warning beacon. Again we also must be awake to differentiating actual from perceived fear. For we understand that perceived, unjustifiable fear is a crutch upon which we rely, and it seeks to dominate our reason.
Natural fear is integral in being human, and given the individual’s understanding it may be right or wrong. Additionally, this fear can manifest itself in a destructive or productive state, which is very much determined upon whether we regulate it or it controls us.
”I have had a great many troubles, but most have never happened.”
Samuel Longhorne Clemens
Action
Your ability and willingness to adapt, improvise and overcome in a plan of S.E.R.E. (survival–escape-resistance-evasion) must be planned for prior to an encounter. Apart from any chosen action(s), planning remains the key to your survival. Duly note as it has been prescribed before, action is much faster than reaction.
Decrease response time by minimizing responses. Human reaction time from threat awareness to threat reaction is 0.75 seconds.
Don’t fool yourself either, no plan is perfect, you must consider the other dynamics involved. Through your mental preparation and force-on-force (FoF) training/drills, you should have worked through many contingency plans. Never, never surrender; keep an ever constant vigilance for the chance to overcome or exploit any lull or weakness of the opposition.
Indecision & Reaction cost time, and every 0.5 seconds is that much time off your life. Take the time to train to minimize responses, so that you can act decisively at the moment of truth.
By reducing the amount of extraneous material taught, you can eliminate the chances for mistakes or fumbling. If we can take a few core skills and apply them (with variables), we can enhance the spectrum of applicable knowledge and survivability.
Skills, Techniques, Tactics and Strategy
First consider that placing yourself at a 45 degree angle to your opponent, places you almost completely neutral to the area of effectiveness for his tools. In so doing you force your opponent to alter his position and maneuver to catch up to you. Do you remember action versus reaction? Well this is it in application, disruption. Any impact used to regulate his physiology and psychology is of course a disturbance. In a simple step you are able to achieve three key maneuvers:
- You have zoned away from the attack or primary line of engagement.
- You have altered his plan of attack, and it will take a few vulnerable seconds to readjust; in so you have
achieved disrupting. - By disturbance through the application of various impact tools you are able to affect him physically and psychologically.
Flow Chart of Combat Development
Skills are ones ability to do something well, either via training or through experience. All skills are motor skills, and each plays a functional role:
- Fine motor skills are defined as coordination of small refined muscle movements which occur usually in coordination with the eyes. The term manual dexterity is a universal reference for these skills, or the reference of eye & hand coordination. The abilities range from primitive gestures like grasping or grabbing objects increasing to athletic abilities, precision maneuvering, writing, drawing, manipulations, etc.
- Complex Motor Skills are the acquisition of progressive developmental skills. These are skills which without accomplishment of basic skills compromise further progression. These include more cognitive processing than either fine or gross motor skills. These complex skills include and develop into judging distance, timing, tracking, rhythm, language, social-emotional skills, postural control (without which controlled movements are not possible), and awareness of movements. Complex motor skills are a matter of linking simple movements with compound physical skills. It is learning basic movements or postures such as sitting, standing, walking. Linking is to simultaneously pair these basic skills with additional and more complex movements of the limbs. One final note, stress can negatively affect fine and complex skills mutually. Either low or moderate levels of stress can in fact interfere with one’s ability to be decisive or maintain their voluntary muscle control.
- Gross Motor Skills requires large muscle groups to partake in physical events and achieve a host of activities. Gross Motor Skills entail the major movement functions of our large muscle groups. These functions are comprised of walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting, throwing, maintaining balance, coordination, jumping, reaching, and numerous others. Gross motor abilities share connections with various other physical or otherwise athletic functions. Something as simple as a student’s ability to remain in an erect upper body position, has a definite affect on the ability to write, support an erect posture for alertness, in observing activities, et cetera. In order to perform adequately in physical activity, an individual must be able to form judgments regarding various incoming data and respond promptly with the appropriate and accurate muscle movements. While engaged in the course of motor activity an individual must make use of constant sensory feedback.
Technique: The What
These are various procedures or skills that are required in carrying out a specific task. Techniques are the management of basic skills and the means in which something is achieved or operates. These can also be considered a method, system, procedure or a modus operendi.
Tactics: The How
Tactics are methods that are applied in skilled planning pertaining to organizing and maneuvering to achieve a goal.
Strategy: The Why/When
Simply put strategy is planning and conducting. It is a devised plan of action or the carrying out of a plan to achieve a goal. This is the means of adaptation crucial to success, or the improvement of viability.
The principles of personal combatives seek to introduce you to the mental aspects of survival as well as engaging you physically, mentally and psychologically via skills and technique. Learning skills and technique in a manner which is progressive will get you on target, and allow you to slow things down, respond promptly and effectively on task. Understanding the platform skills and utilizing appropriate technique are key to effectiveness in personal combative survival.
