D.I.R.E.C.T Defense is an acronym first derived to name the fusion of martial art I was teaching. DIRECT Defense stands for Defense Initiated Realistic & Effect Combat Tactics Defense System. I developed this system as an accumulated result of my formal martial arts training, my extensive studies and my personal experience of over fifteen years on “the door” and personal security field. This is just a very small peek into some of our classes.
Many times in our conversations as martial artists we come upon the subject of reality. What is reality in regards to fighting? What are the boundaries for this? What works for real? What doesn’t work? What is realistic training? Are Patterns (Tuls, Katas and forms) realistic? This term has become the subject of great debate which occurs time and time again. Reality in the confines of martial arts and fighting denotes three types of fights; the ambush, the match fight and a confrontation/three second fight. There are many common techniques, tactics and concepts which work for one, two or all three scenarios. Some considerations for these scenarios are awareness, consent, rules, morals, the law, etc. and so on. Though there are commonalities there are also sets of abilities which work primarily only under select circumstances. The methods of training can also be similar in many instances but also varies greatly in other instances. Some training methods (martial arts systems) are direct and to the point whereas some other methods of training are more indirect and artistic. Patterns (Sets or Forms) training provides many great physical benefits to the practitioner but leave much doubt to many about their true practicality in the modern day use (street & combat). From the more ridged style forms of hard styles like Karate and Taekwon-do, to the more flowing forms of Soft styles like WuShu and TaiChiQuan, to the dance-like forms of other styles like Silat and Capoeira, there is a wide range of interpretations of combat. All martial arts were originally devised to help train the practitioner in one way or another for combat regardless of whatever the origin. The question is what is practical for self defense in the real world?
There are essentially three basic types of fights, an ambush attack, the match fight and a confrontation or three second fight. All martial training will cover one, two or all three of the areas and in varying degrees.
The Ambush Attack denotes just that. There is very little or no prior knowledge of an eminent assault. Training against this type of fight or attack starts primarily in awareness and education. Awareness and Education really go hand in hand as once one is aware this could type of attack may occur they are already on the road to helping prevent such things from happening. Along with being aware, being educated on the rituals of an attack, body language and general practices to avoid danger will give the basis to avoid being ambushed. If one survives the initial attack they may escape or this may transform into a match fight.
The Match Fight is not self defense as it initially could have been avoided. It is a fight by which both parties consent to being involved! This may be in the form of a sports match with rules (i.e. boxing, kickboxing, mma, or any other combative sport) in training or competition or it may be a scenario in which two parties agree to fight (i.e. ‘taking it outside’). Either way both parties have consented at some point to fight. This type of fight is generally affected by personal attributes like size, strength, speed, conditioning and talent. Most martial arts and artists focus on this area.
The Confrontation / Three Second Fight is a scenario in which one is approached by an assailant(s), then recognize the rituals and signals and must take action immediately (fight or flight). If one is aware of attack rituals, body language, the affects of Stress/Fear/adrenaline then this, generally speaking, is where training must focus for self defense must lay. The goal here is not to fight but to survive! Physical abilities are still important but the tactics for using them are more the focus.
There are many components of martial arts which can potentially affect our success or failure in a fight. The first is awareness. Although awareness seems like commonsense, commonsense isn’t always that common. Training martial arts (generally speaking) we like to systemize things so to simplify awareness we may use the color code model. It is as follows:
Code White – The lowest level of awareness. Actually you are unaware of what is going on around you. You are ‘switched off’. This level essentially should only be when one is asleep. Reasons affecting why one may be in this condition may include, fatigue, stress, or impairment due to drugs and/or alcohol. At this level you are not really ready for anything.
Code Yellow – You are alert but also calm and relaxed. You are alert to the surroundings/environment and the people who occupy it and their body language. You are alert, not paranoid. In this state it is difficult for someone to surprise you.
Code Orange – A heightened level of awareness. You sense or recognize that something is not right. This is the time to formulate a plan.
Code Red – The fight is on! You are taking Decisive and immediate action.
Recognizing attack rituals and set-ups helps one to avoid these types of attacks.
This basic model is used as a guide but may be expanded. Awareness is the cornerstone for self-defense.
Tied to awareness we also should know the way the ‘bad guy(s)’ tend to set-up and attack victims, otherwise known as the Rituals of an attack. ‘Bad guys’ don’t look like ‘bad guys’. They set people up by having them drop their guard through Dialogue (verbal and or body) and or Deception. If something doesn’t seem right it probably isn’t. Intuition goes a long way. The assailant will then use Distraction to set up the Destruction of their intended target. This amounts to what is referred to as the 4 D’s. This method of attack is commonplace for criminals. As martial artists, we should make ourselves ‘hard targets’. Bad guys look for victims and not a fight! If one trains to be confident and alert it turns potential assailants off. Not only should one train to be a hard target but they should become knowledgeable as to how criminals operate (what they look for and how they go about their schemes). Body language can tell a lot and is a big area of study though the basics like erratic eye movement, hand concealment, and adrenaline reaction are commonly displayed (but also remember Deception is a major part of the plan for a seasoned attacker).
Next let’s very briefly consider the affects of stress (as a book could be written about it). In a nut shell, when we encounter stress (or an elevated situation) our body gets a charge (dump) of adrenaline. Adrenaline can give an anesthetizing effect to help the body deal with pain and give added speed and strength. In a confrontation, the adrenaline dump will most often be mistaken by the body as fear. The negative affects of fear/adrenaline on the individual are perception distortion, cognitive impairment and motor skill deterioration. This point we reach is called the ‘fight or flight syndrome’. Some signs of an adrenaline dump are; nausea, time distortion, tunnel vision, dry mouth, loosening of the bowel, preflight shakes, etc. The word ‘Fear’ may also be used as an acronym, FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. It all boils down to our perceptions of reality. These feelings are natural and all part of the body’s natural survival mechanisms. The advantage of recognizing adrenaline(fear/stress) and its affects are to use it positively as a supercharger for your own use and a possible detriment for the attacker. Under high levels of stress, as well, fine, complex and closed motor skills deteriorate whereas gross motor skills increase in performance. It is therefore important to understand the effects of stress to help improve our training.
Motor skills fall into a number of categories including; open, closed, gross, fine and complex motor skills.
1 Gross Motor Skill: skills using the major muscle groups. I.e. pushing or pulling. Strength events.
2 Fine Motor Skills: are skills using the small muscle groups. I.e. accuracy and coordination events.
3 Complex Motor Skills: are skills combining Gross and fine motor skills. Most traditional martial arts training fall into this category.
4 Closed Motor Skills: are skills performed in a never changing environment.
5 Open Motor Skills: are skills performed in a constantly changing environment.
Besides the affects of stress on motor skills, heart rate has a great effect on motor skills as well. At 115 BPM (beats per minute) fine motor skills deteriorate. At 145 BPM gross motor skills deteriorate but gross motor skills are unaffected by high heart rates. Under stress we fall back to our repetition training, rarely if ever do we rise to our expectations. Therefore under stress and high heart rate we need to focus training on utilizing gross motor skills.
There can be many limitations regarding the application of martial arts including environment/terrain, confinement (i.e. hands tied), weather, etc. but for the purposes here we’ll focus on our personal limits. Hick’s law is one limitation many martial artists don’t account for. It simply states that the increase in one’s reaction time is very large when the number of alternatives (techniques) to a task is increased from one to two. Each additional technique adds even more time for the body to react. Other than our own physical limitations the only other main limits are our morals and the law. One must be educated on what is and what is not legal (use of force) in regards to self-defense for whatever area they live or travel to. It is a very important and personal responsibility to have this knowledge. One’s morals may also affect the amount of force used to defend oneself. A personal directive is a great tool for self defense in these regards. A directive sets boundaries for which you will allow yourself to act or not act when action is called upon. A brief example of a personal directive may be:
“I will be aware of my surrounding and the people in it at all times. I will not allow myself to be put in danger needlessly and I will avoid confrontation whenever possible. If I do get in a confrontation I will try to diffuse the situation. If diffusion doesn’t work, I will end the confrontation as quickly and effectively as possible with as little force as possible. I will go home to my wife and kids.”
This directive highlights awareness, it gives the boundaries and limits but also keeps the door open to defend one’s self however necessary (using reasonable force) to go home to one’s family.
So far little has been mention about individual martial techniques themselves. We can focus on of the three types of ‘fights’ site which areas of training would best suit each.
Ambush attack. The training to prevent an ambush attack is primarily awareness, knowledge of the surroundings and knowledge of the rituals of attack. If the initial attack is survived this may become a three second fight or most likely a match fight.
Match fight. Training may include any of the vast number of martial arts. Training in martial sport fighting would include whatever techniques which adhere to the rules of that martial sport. This area of training also requires conditioning, reflexes, speed, agility, timing, and other important physical attributes. Mental attributes include confidence, desire, discipline etc. and so on. A match fight in the street requires a well rounded training against resisting opponents (and weapons training would be highly beneficial). Extensive bag and target training with follow-through technique would be very beneficial as well. The most common and effective techniques in a street fight are gross motor skill based (due to stress and heart rate) therefore eliminating many traditional martial arts techniques. Street defense also carries many more consequences than fighting in a ring including, police involvement, comebacks, serious injury, death, etc.
Confrontation/Three Second fight. Training leans more towards mental aspects, focusing more on concepts than technique. All the regular mental and physical benefits of martial arts training are present with added components. Awareness, the personal directive, knowledge of attack rituals, verbal diffusion skills, knowledge of Fear/Adrenaline/Stress, action triggers are all mental components. The physical components include the interview/ the fence, the pre-emptive strike, and follow-up techniques. Again, the street carries many more consequences than the ring so we also need justification before entering into a physical exchange. Physical training must include techniques which are gross motor skill based. Learning large quantities of techniques is not important, but what is important is learning and mastering a few quality follow-through techniques (this also coincides with Hick’s law). Training with heavy contact on bags and targets is a must as are resisting opponents. Scenario training goes a long way to benefit this area of defense.
Lastly, in many martial arts curriculums we have patterns (tul/kata) training. Many schools focus much of their time and in many cases the bulk of their training on learning and practicing patterns. How do they fit in to the scheme of reality? Patterns do teach balance, coordination, focus, etc. and they can help with strength and speed. Patterns are great as a tool to pass on culture and tradition, to get exercise and relieve stress. If self defense is the goal, much of this time would be better spent on other areas and methods of training. Yes, there are applications (the Japanese use the term Bunkai) of the forms and for their techniques, as traditionally taught, but how applicable are they to modern times? How realistic are these applications? If they teach far fetched applications such as blocking at two separate angles at the exact same time, against two separate opponents then truthfully the applications are of not much use! Even if the applications of patterns worked the training methodology is wrong for practical self defense. Primarily, forms utilize complex motor skills, therefore under stress and high heart rate these skills are of little use. Forms are devised of hundreds of different techniques with hundreds of applications going against Hick’s law. Generally speaking patterns don’t utilize follow-through in their technique. Patterns or martial sport (match fighting) training does not teach awareness, the personal directive, knowledge of attack rituals, verbal diffusion skills, knowledge of Fear/Adrenaline/Stress, action triggers, etc.! Patterns (or martial sport) practice also doesn’t usually inform about possible police involvement, comebacks, serious injury, death, etc. in self defense situations. Again, they are great forms of exercise and not to say they don’t have a place but as far as practical for self defense, patterns are far from it!
What is real? There are three types of fights or attacks. For self defense one must be aware and knowledgeable of the rituals of attack, the four D’s, body language, etc.! Stress/adrenaline, motor skills, Hick’s law all have a definitive affect on martial arts techniques and the way they may be used realistically. The law and our morals play a role in how we defend ourselves. In true self defense (not match fighting) there is no consent! To prepare for the Real world we must train as real as possible!
Peace,
Troy F. White
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