Posts Tagged ‘killeen self defense’
Training The Fighting Frame With A Partner
In this segment, I will teach you how to drill the fighting frame and the combat application that I taught last post. I will also post this as a pod cast that will be up on the site later today.
There are two basic drills that you can easily use to functionalize this particular skill set. They are:
Give and Take. To describe this easier, I’ll give each partner a name. Trainer and Trainee. To start the drill, stand in front of your partner and get what we call the “fighting measure”. This means to reach out with your arms and touch their shoulder. If you can’t, you are too far away. Once you have the fighting measure, assume a fighting stance. Here we go.
- Trainer slowly steps forward and delivers a right jab to the trainee’s head and freezes. The trainee steps towards the trainer and assumes the fighting frame posture, striking the trainer with the frame. Once contact has been made, the trainee steps back and assume a new fighting stance. Okay. Now, the trainee becomes the trainer and the trainer becomes the trainee. Get it?
- To continue the drill, the trainer slowly steps forward and delivers a right jab to the trainee’s head and freezes. The trainee steps towards the trainer and assumes the fighting frame posture, striking the trainer with the frame. Once contact has been made, the trainee steps back and assume a new fighting stance. Now, the trainee becomes the trainer and the trainer becomes the trainee.
- Repeat this action until both partners are comfortable with the motions. Once you are good to go, you may slowly speed up the action until you are at combat speed!
Block and Strike. This drill is an adaptation of the Filipino combat arts training methodology “Abecedario”. It is a progressive skill development tool that is very effective and has endless possibilities. The set up is just like before. Trainer and Trainee. To start the drill, stand in front of your partner and get what we call the “fighting measure”. This means to reach out with your arms and touch their shoulder. If you can’t, you are too far away. Once you have the fighting measure, assume a fighting stance. Here we go.
- The trainer steps forward and punches to the trainee’s head. The trainee steps forward and executes the fighting frame. Once contact has been made with the trainer, the trainee will follow up the frame with a counter strike.
- For the purposes of this segment. I will prescribe a specific response for ease of use. The trainee unclasps his/her left hand from the right wrist and wraps it over the trainers attacking limb. With the right hand, (already on the head/neck) open your fist and grab the back of the trainer’s head. Next, the trainee will pull down sharply on the trainer’s neck while at the same time delivering a right knee spike to the trainer’s stomach. Lastly, the trainee will push the trainer backwards; step back and assume the fighting stance. Okay. Now, the trainee becomes the trainer and the trainer becomes the trainee. Get it?
- To continue the drill, the trainer slowly steps forward and delivers a right jab to the trainee’s head and freezes. The trainer steps forward and punches to the trainee’s head. The trainee steps forward and executes the fighting frame. Once contact has been made with the trainer, the trainee will follow up the frame with a counter strike.
- The trainee unclasps his/her left hand from the right wrist and wraps it over the trainers attacking limb. With the right hand, (already on the head/neck) open your fist and grab the back of the trainer’s head. Next, the trainee will pull down sharply on the trainer’s neck while at the same time delivering a right knee spike to the trainer’s stomach. Lastly, the trainee will push the trainer backwards; step back and assume the fighting stance.
Repeat this action until both partners are comfortable with the motions. Once you are good to go, you may slowly speed up the action until you are at combat speed!
One more thing. Ensure that both partners take all safety precautions. Wear the proper protective equipment especially eye protection. Because we all know its fun and games until you put an eye out!
These two drills should get you started on the road to functional defense. If you have comments or suggestions, please email me or comment in the form below.
Until next time, let’s get training!
Never Give Up
I was training my son in Standing Grappling and Ground fighting just a few days ago and my youngest said, “It’s too hard, can you show me something else that is easier?” Of course, I gave him a hard time about it and continued to drill and drill. Later on, I sat him down and shared some of my life experiences where having a “Don’t give up” mental attitude literally saved my life. So, I thought that this thread might make a good blog post. Let me know what you think. I look forward to your comments and tweets.
Here it is:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
How many times do we tell students “don’t give up”, but do we practice this mindset ourselves? When a challenge comes along and we don’t get it the first time, we should keep trying for at least one hundred times.
I have not failed 700 times, I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work
~ Thomas Edison
Think how successful we would be if we always did things one hundred times before we even thought about giving up. If this was put into our life at work, home and in martial arts, think of the things we could achieve. we might not even get there after one hundred times but think how much better we would be than just giving it one chance and then saying “l can’t do it”.
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
Lewis Carroll
The human quality of perseverance is very important. Often people with physical talent fail because they lack perseverance and motivation, they should instead be like the proverbial boulder and just know we can achieve whatever we want, as long as we keep taking action and learning we can only go forwards and progress.
Repetition is the mother of all skills. To do a technique once and expect it to work for us is not true in the slightest. To really understand the technique and its concepts we have to do it until the line of familiarity and the root movement is in our subconscious. It can be done anytime anywhere without even thinking about it.
You may train for a long time, but if you merely move your hands and feet and jump up and down like a puppet, learning Karate is not very different from learning a dance. you will never have reached the heart of the matter; you will have failed to grasp the quintessence of karate-do – Gichin Funakoshi
Think how many times we do a jab in our training more than say a difficult kick, the jab is repeated far more times as the difficult kick will work in a real situation. It’s repeated time after time so that it will work for us in situations and we become very comfortable throwing it.
Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both….and surpass the result.
~ Tien T’ai
When we have developed all of our combative skill sets ensuring that we adhere to the six attributes then our techniques will become technically sound and we will develop our tactical or strategic skills to become an excellent martial artist.
The obstacle is the path
~ Zen Proverb
Until next time, Let’s Get Training!
jim
Self Defense Grappling Seminar
Hey! Just a quick update. Lynn and I are here in Hutto teaching a seminar on Self Defense Grappling.
There are folks from Austin, Houston and Florida here.
Today we ran through all the basic positions, escapes and walk the clock. Tommorow we are going to finish up the submission series and do some rolling.
Stay tuned for pics and video!
The Frame
There are certain body positions that nullify a opponent’s attacks. Their strikes, kicks, locks and chokes are no longer effective due to the attack options presented by your defensive position. Yet from these positions, the superior fighter can launch effective strikes and finishes or can move to an even more advantageous position. There is no reasonable way without a position such as this to hit another person that doesn’t leave you vulnerable to an attack in return. These positions are the frame from which we attempt to organize our training.
Natural Stance - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, this basic ready stance is often used to disguise tactics or intent. The entire body should be relaxed. Allow your arms to hang at the sides, bring both arms slightly to the front and clasp the left hand over the right wrist in the “monkey’s paw” grip. This is done by aligning all five of your fingers together and curving them the meet the curvature of your right wrist. Grip with all the fingers on one side of the other wrist. This will allow a unconscious release of the other arm. If you use a normal “grip”, you will subconsciously have to tell yourself to let go and complete another motion. This grip removes that step. If used with a stick, stand with stick under left arm and left hand holding right forearm.
Fighting Stance – A general rule of stance is to keep both legs flexed for balance, and to be able to move rapidly. One heel is always lifted, usually the one with the least weight. This is a relatively general principle, which in particular facilitates turning. It may also help with explosive motions. The feet are 45 degrees to the major line of the body. There should be a feeling of being ready to take off like a sprinter. Hide the head behind the shoulder and the throat behind the chin. It is a good rule of thumb to keep the elbows low and close to the body and head. The guarding hand is used to block and check incoming attacks. When in an fighting position, hold the hand in accordance with your range to the opponent. If a weapon is being used, it is always in the lead hand.
Fighting Frame - In response to your opponent’s attack, you step slightly off the side of their body that the attack originated. You bring your arms up in the instinctive flinch response then link your wrists. Both arms are slightly bent at the elbow with your head tucked down and in-between and looking forward at the attacker. Form your hands into fists and grasp your right wrist with the left hand in the “monkey’s paw”. You are attempting to blast your way past the attack (normally a jab or a haymaker style punch) by striking your opponent’s forearm / bicep area with your left forearm and your right forearm striking the opponent’s shoulder / neck area with emphasis on hitting the Brachial Plexus Origin nerve cluster.
This combative application of instinctively protection our face will hopefully do several things.
- Protect our head and face from the incoming attack.
- Deliver a debilitating blow to the attacking limb by striking the bicep brachial nerve which should stun the limb and hopefully effect a “impact driven grip release” of any weapon.
- Place us into position for the Tactical phase of our Combative Application: The delivery of counter attack techniques.
This sample response simply shows a beginning option:
- Fighting Frame Position 1
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- Left Knee Spike
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- Right Elbow Strike
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- Headtwist Takedown
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- Knee Drop
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- Hammerfist Finishing Technique
The fighting frame is a simple, yet effective strategic and tactical application tool. Practice, Practice, Practice until it is instinctive. Next post I’ll show you how to drill this with a willing partner.
Until then, Let’s Get Training!
jim
A Quick, Down And Dirty Self Defense Technique
Here is a quick and easy self defense tip for when someone grabs one of your wrists and tries to pull you somewhere you don’t want to go.
- Step back sharply and jerk the attackers arm down and towards the ground at a 45 degree angle. (this will off balance them)
- Yell or shout. I like to tell folks to spit in their face and scream, “I have AIDS or Swine Flu”, or something like that to freak out the attacker. (this will begin to change their thought process from holding on)
- Just for illustrations sake, we will pretend that your left hand is the one captured. So, after you jerk and shout; immediately / at the same time shove the palm of your hand upward and slam into their chin. You want to drive their head back and snap their teeth together. (this redirects their attention from the grip, establishes pain to divert their muscles from the grip)
- Lastly, after the chin strike rebound your arm downward to the attackers arm that is holding your arm. We are aiming for the area forward of the bend in their elbow. (This spot is a nerve sensitive area and a strike will cause a flex response and cause the release of your wrist) Repeat as often as necessary.
- Once you have struck the attacker’s arm, rebound your arm and strike them in the face with your forearm.
- Run. Find a safe place or refuge to complete number 7.
- Notify Law Enforcement authorities.
There you go. Quick, down and dirty self defense technique to escape a wrist grab.
Need some Self Defense training? Not sure what to do? Call Jim at Killeen and Harker Heights best Self Defense and Fitness center. 254-247-4999.
New Athletes!
I would like to welcome the following folks to our little Athletic family:
Ashlery Garcia – Boot Camp
Amber Davila – Boot Camp
Callie Howard – Boot Camp
The Final Frontier: Goal Execution
The goals are set, the plan has been made, now it’s time to pull the trigger. A goal is no good without a plan. A plan is useless if it is never executed. Bringing back the road trip analogy, it is safe to say that if the goal to go to California is set and the plan is mapped out. The next step is to get in the car and drive. Maybe, if you want to putter out of gas in 10 miles and you don’t mind wearing the same clothes everyday.
The first step in goal execution is preparation. There will always be preparation in any type of goal fulfillment. Let’s revisit John. John is going to run a 5k. He has his goal set, his plan made, and he’s off to the races. Not exactly. In order for John to properly (key word properly) execute his goal he has to lay a foundation of preparation. John will need comfortable clothes and running shoes for practice.
Also, he will have to sign up for the 5k. He should also talk to some other people that have run before. This will help him to be better prepared. The only thing left is for John to set aside time on his calendar for running. Now, in partnership with his goal and plan, he is able to execute & attain his goal. With this formula, anyone can accomplish a set goal.
Everyone has the same number of hours in a day.
What are you doing with yours’?
Word Of The Day? Motivation!
The word of the day is motivation. Everyone is motivated in some way to do something. If the motivation is not yielding an action that has a positive, healthy impact on your life it is time to shift some thoughts and actions. It sounds simple enough. If you read this blog regularly, it probably sounds a little familiar too. That is because goals need motivation. Here are a couple basic things to think about when evaluating motivation.
Motivation goes by two names. The first, and the one most people have, is called extrinsic. It represents all external motivations. Money, status, physical beauty, etc. are all examples of external motivators. The second, and most effective in the long term, is intrinsic. This includes all things internal. Thoughts, feelings, health, safety, etc. are all intrinsic. Sometimes, the same result can be achieved through either type of motivation. It is also possible to start off in one mindset and shift to the other during and still attain the same outcome.
For example, Sally wants to lose 50 lbs. She believes that weight loss will make her more attractive to the world. So, her initial motivation is extrinsic because she is anticipating her “reward” to be outside the actual completion of the task itself. Sally begins a regular exercise routine and adjusts her diet. Over the next couple of weeks Sally loses 5 lbs. She also begins to have more confidence in herself because she has learned that she is capable of doing more than she anticipated.
Now, Sally exercises because she wants to challenge herself. This is a shift in motivation. The intrinsic motivation here is Sally’s increased desire to complete a specific task. Therefore, her “reward” can only come from the task itself. Either way, she will reap the reward of the exercise. One reward of exercise and healthy diet can be weight loss. Since her motivation is now intrinsic she will, most likely, continue on with diet and exercise long after she reaches her initial 50 lb goal.
Take some time to look at what gets you going. What and how are you motivated? Compare your set goals with what motivated or motivates you to achieve them. Then get out there and make it happen!!
Evaluate Your Routine
Many people live in a denial mindset that says “it won’t happen to me.” If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably abandoned that mindset. If you haven’t, you should start.
People who break out of the denial mindset sometimes slip too far into a mindset that says something like “violence can happen any time, anywhere, and you must be on your guard constantly!” This mindset can be almost as problematic as the denial mindset.
First of all, it’s just impossible to actually accomplish: no one, not even the most elite warrior on the planet, is 100% on guard all of the time. If nothing else, you have to sleep, and even when you’re not sleeping, life distracts. It’s what life does.
Second, living with that sort of constant hyper-vigilance is not healthy. It’s a very short walk from “danger could be anywhere” to full blown paranoia, which is diagnosed as mental illness for very good reasons.
So how do you find the balance? Evaluate your routine.
We all have patterns of activity that we follow on a daily or weekly basis. For most of us, it’s something like:
Get up
Go to work
Work
Go home
Eat dinner
Family time/work out/ watch TV
Bed
Your routine may look different, but should still be easy to outline. Grab a pad of paper and make some notes about how you conduct your day or your week. Once you’ve done this ask yourself the following question.
Where would you attack you? Why?
If you are being honest, you can probably find at least a few places or times where you are more vulnerable—those are times when you need to be more vigilant.
For example: I walk my dog before bed every night, which means I’m out at odd hours, when few people are around. If I wanted to mug me, that would be a good time.
Once you’ve identified your danger zones, consider the following questions.
Is there some way to avoid them? If you run in the morning, can you run someplace where there are more people around? This may not always be possible—I have to walk my dog. There’s no getting around it.
- What can you do to minimize the risks? Ipods are great to listen to, but they make it hard to hear. I carry a flashlight when I walk my dog at night, both as a light and as an extra impact tool.
- If you were attacked in those areas, how would you escape? Where could you run to for help? In your home or office, you may already have a fire escape plan you could use.
- When you first do this exercise, it’s natural to feel a bit paranoid. Asking these questions can be a bit uncomfortable. But once you’ve done it you’ll be able to go through your day more relaxed, more confident, and more alert when you need to be.
Stay Safe!
Jake Steinmann – Active Defense Personal Training
Universal Fight Plan
When two untrained fighters meet almost anywhere that you could look, their instinctive tactic to win a fight will most likely be to strike each other with their fists until one of them takes enough damage that they cannot fight back. This is referred to as the Universal Fight Plan because everyone in the world knows it instinctively.
Martial Arts instruction has an approach that simply teaches people/fighters to be able to more effectively execute the Universal Fight Plan. It is simply more efficient to teach people to control a violent encounter by controlling the elements of that encounter. I will briefly talk about two different trains of thought and will elaborate more indepth in a later post.
The first train of thought is for an encounter with firearms. The basic rule of thumb is this:
- Reactionary Gap – Clear the gun to target line, secure or support the weapon if in close range. If at a defensible distance, secure and present your firearm.
- Risk Management – We reduce risk by terminating the threat in a legally defensible manner. Control factors that you can directly manage. Risk, Threat, Recoil.
- Retention – We continue Risk Management and Reactionary Gap by preventing the attacker from securing a grip on our firearm and disarming or shooting us with our own weapon.
- Reload – If you discharged your weapon, immediately combat reload and regain Reactionary Gap.
- Recovery – Disengage to a safe and covered position while scanning. Recovery can also include clearing malfunctions or stoppages.
- Recover – Once the threat has been mitigated, we recover by completely removing our self from the danger area and immediately replace ammo, scan for other threats and to treat any wounds. Lastly, we initiate the Law Enforcement process by calling 911 or your local emergency response number.
The second train of thought we will consider is a empty hand or fist fight. The rule of thumb for this engagement can be simply this; control the elements of the fight which in this case is: Range, Angle and Level.
- Close the distance – Avoid punching range by utilizing evasive footwork that puts you in range to utilize your punching skill set.
- Gain the dominant position – This can be accomplished simply by being in the place that you can hit, kick or otherwise strike the opponent where he/she cannot hit you back.
- Finish the fight – When a dominant body position has been gained either standing or on the ground, the fighter in the dominant position can begin to finish the fight with devastating punches or submission techniques.
Until next time…Lets Get Training!
Quick Self Defense
Here is a quick and easy self defense tip for when someone grabs one of your wrists and tries to pull you somewhere you don’t want to go.
- Step back sharply and jerk the attackers arm down and towards the ground at a 45 degree angle. (this will off balance them)
- Yell or shout. I like to tell folks to spit in their face and scream, “I have AIDS or Swine Flu”, or something like that to freak out the attacker. (this will begin to change their thought process from holding on)
- Just for illustrations sake, we will pretend that your left hand is the one captured. So, after you jerk and shout; immediately / at the same time shove the palm of your hand upward and slam into their chin. You want to drive their head back and snap their teeth together. (this redirects their attention from the grip, establishes pain to divert their muscles from the grip)
- Lastly, after the chin strike rebound your arm downward to the attackers arm that is holding your arm. We are aiming for the area forward of the bend in their elbow. (This spot is a nerve sensitive area and a strike will cause a flex response and cause the release of your wrist) Repeat as often as necessary.
- Once you have struck the attacker’s arm, rebound your arm and strike them in the face with your forearm.
- Run. Find a safe place or refuge to complete number 7.
- Notify Law Enforcement authorities.
There you go. Quick, down and dirty self defense technique to escape a wrist grab.
