SCULPTING VICTORY

Cast your mind back to an occasion when you and a friend have discussed self-defence. I’ll bet you a whole sack of beans that at one point, either they (or you!) would have said “I’ll use X, Y and finish the bastard with a Z to the face.” Right there and then, it sounds good. A tidy little game plan that reads like a recipe for a cake called ‘Invincible.” Trouble is, Mr Murphy says “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” and Mr. Murphy is always right!



There are tactics and skills that have a reasonably high degree of success. We know this because we train hard and do our homework. Many of us have taken great pains to expand our knowledge of what we are capable of and work hard to cement this knowledge into our consciousness. If we are not wary, as our knowledge grows, so does the sugar pedestal around our feet…
As we grow ever more confident, we begin to the see self-defence as a primitive mathematical equation. We see all the numbers arranged neatly before us and proceed to neatly carve our way through every problem with the scalpel of logic. Combat is algebra. Unknown values will affect the other parts of the problem. In a field of unknowns, we must know how to deal with them and ultimately “solve the equation.”

With or without weapons, there are few things that guarantee a “stop hit”, a technique that drops an opponent in a split second. Even the sound physiological premise behind “brain shake” (the KO punch etc) has met with failure (See Geoff Thompson’s fight with ‘Granite Jaw’). The wrestlers of old developed their neck muscles to such an extent they could not be choked or strangled. Samurai texts mention a man who managed to draw his sword and cut down an opponent a split second after having his head severed. In 1977 a drunk criminal absorbed six rounds of hollow-point ammunition (including a “daylight” gunshot wound between the eyes) and continued to bludgeon and stab a police officer before expiring (due to four more rounds of ammunition and severe bleeding). In the times of “chivalry”, a knight fighting in a duel would be stabbed, impaled and STILL fight on to win the duel. In 1936 a man was stabbed in the heart (leaving a large wound) and lived for four days before expiring. Even a gunshot to the heart, a hugely devastating wound, will leave the victim up to fifteen seconds in which to kill you if he has the opportunity.

The human body is an incredible machine and will still function for minutes or hours (in extreme circumstances, days) after being fatally wounded. What the above tells us is that no matter what technique we use, no matter how many times it has worked in the past, there is NO SUCH THING as a GUARANTEED STOP.

So what are we to do? There is a weak link in this chain: Mindset.

Some men will drop to the floor after being shot once because they have seen people being shot on television and this is the “done thing”. We are conditioned to think that weapons are like a poison that works on contact – one touch and you drop to the floor. This speedy death is great for TV because action scenes are difficult to choreograph, film and edit. Thus everything is ramped up a notch: the deadliness of a weapon and the speed at which death closes on a victim. An extended scene in which two guys with knives “going at it” for five minutes and suffering lots of damage in the process will not only be a bitch to shoot, but the censors will have a ball park too - we have to be protected from the hardiness of the human spirit and the nature of real life battle.



This conditioned response is nice if you’re lucky enough to have to go toe-to-toe with somebody who has no real stomach for violence. People who have not trained their mindset through exposure to stress and fear are rarely a worthy foe. Being practitioners of self-protection, we have to assume the worst-case scenario: the ultimate bad guy; a determined, aggressive, skilled opponent who is ultimately bent upon your death. In a situation like this, the ensuing fight will be a contest of wills.

Fatally injuring the opponent WILL NOT end the fight.

THE FIGHT ENDS WHEN SOMEBODY DECIDES TO STOP FIGHTING BACK.

This decision can manifest itself in death. Death is a force of nature, but one that can be postponed or hastened through sheer will. I work in a hospital and have seen numerous incidents of people living for days or weeks at death’s door, only to let go once they have said goodbye to a particular relative or friend.
Unconsciousness can also manifest the choice. Soldiers who have been captured and subsequently tortured have mentioned the control they have over consciousness when badly beaten, choosing either to sink into the warm water or struggle on the surface. We have a lot more control over our bodies than we think possible. The incredible feats of strength shown under the influence of adrenal dump (grandmothers lifting cars etc) are as much down to MINDSET as they are to physiological attributes.

When the body is weak, only MINDSET holds it together.

In combat, we are destroying the MINDSET of the opponent. Inside every granite-hewn tough guy is a defeated man waiting to be carved out. Every blow landed, every strike thrown is another chip at his façade. We MUST hack away at his psyche until his granite will is but gravel strewn about the floor.

Similarly, we must defend our mindset against his onslaught. Through conditioning and visualisation, we must become accustomed the effects of extreme physical punishment. Imagine being shot, stabbed, stamped on, limbs torn off, flesh scorched, etc. The list IS endless. Watch yourself rise from the ashes of your flesh and tear the opponent apart. This is vital. It is not enough to simply see the damage done to yourself, you MUST watch yourself crush the opponent regardless of what harm you have sustained. Educate your mindset to accept all outcomes except defeat.

THE FIGHT ENDS WHEN SOMEBODY DECIDES TO STOP FIGHTING BACK.

Combat is the art of being persuasive whilst remaining stubborn.