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Yet several large principles are becoming clear to me:

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1)  You Musty Be Aware of the Threat of the Ambush.  Returning to my Matrix analogy, it is like I have been confronted with Morpheus’ blue pill-red pill decision. I can take the blue pill, and go back to the sinawali, the sparring matches, the padded tournament competitions, the move-for-move, counter-for-counter “advanced” kali, knife drills, carefully controlled scenarios where I start at a comfortable distance with a bat/stick in my hands, and so on. I can continue attending seminars, added certifications, writing and selling books, along with a whole lot of other blissful people in the martial arts matrix.

Or I can take the red pill, and enter a world where I am confronted with the inadequacies of my training and technique. I enter a harsh, murky environment where I don’t have all the answers and I’m no longer the expert. Leave the matrix, and you’re in a new reality where training is designed to be brutal, unpredictable, and unfair.

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2)  You Must Train for the Ambush.  You must train to learn to recognize threats, to respond when you’re under attack, and by “under attack” I mean someone who has landed with the first punch and is now furiously bombarding you with everything, including the kitchen sink. Fights won’t start with opponents six feet apart. As I’ve often seen fights go down, opponents (if they’re male) will “chest bump,” gradually escalating the conflict. I remember Toby Blauer realizing in his first real-world fight, “He’s too close –I can’t kick him!”

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3)  You Must Adjust Your Techniques.  Your techniques must become simple and instinctive. You won’t have time to decide which block or counter to use. Out of nowhere, within a second, a punch is hurtling toward your face. You need something like Tony Blauer’s “flinch” response, where the reptilian part of your brain is taking over.

This is where the whole kali counter-for-counter, move-for-move at mid-range falls apart. It doesn’t take into account the possibility that you’ve been rocked by a first shot out of the blue, and now you’re getting bombed on at a range that is too close for comfort. You can’t block and counter; you’ve got to move into the teeth of the attack, move right in through his windmilling arms as the blows are raining down.

Cover becomes vital. You’re not six feet away where you can block, counter, parry, strike, evade, counter, etc.  You need something like the fetal position, only more mobile. You’re feeling woozy and the blows are landing from God-knows-where. You’ve got to stop taking the punishment and get clear-headed enough to counter attack.

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4)  You Must Become More Aware.  You must maintain a “bubble” of safety. You must be aware of everyone around you. You can’t afford to daydream or sleepwalk. You are cognizant of the fact that just one blow to the back of the head with the beer bottle and it’s lights out. Your tournament trophies or grandmaster status are meaningless.

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5)  You Must Think Tactically.  “Tactical” is the most misused word in the English language. “Tactical” is typically used to mean “military looking.” Instead, you must think in terms of tactics. Avoid corners. Don’t use the ATM at ten at night. Don’t go into the Target or Wal-Mart in the bad part of town. Stay armed. Get a hand on your weapon when your “spidey sense” starts tingling. Don’t go to the ATM by yourself. Arm everyone in your family. At Taco Bell, your daughter doesn’t go to the bathroom by herself –you’re standing outside the door watching to see who goes in, or your wife accompanies her. You park under a streetlight. Etcetera.

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Eric Knaus of Dog Brothers fame (Check out his history of the evolution of full contact here.) teaches how to strike the knee properly.

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He begins by explaining what really happens when someone gets hit in the knee with a stick. Credit goes to the Dog Brothers for exploring real full contact stick fighting, so that we no longer have to rely on speculation about what might happen if you hit someone with the stick.

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At around 20 seconds he talks of the importance of a kill shot. He likes the backhand strike (Note he’s using both hands.), which is a staple of Big Stick Combat and the upcoming Steel Baton method.

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At 40 seconds he imitates the “fluff” seen in many eskrima/kali styles. Having seen this firsthand, I can tell you that you can’t block it. The attacks are so fast and from so many directions, that blocking is futile. This is why the WEKAF competitions are horrible –no one attempts any defense. It’s only reasonable, though, because you can’t block all those strikes, the logical strategy (if “logical” is the right word) is to try to hit him more than he hits you. So if he hits me 37 times, I win if I hit him 44 times. Exactly how does this apply to combat?

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At 45 seconds Eric has a hilarious moment. Touching his opponent with the stick, he says, “Watch out! Oh, you’re dead!” He’s sarcastically making the point that the fancy blur of twirling stick, the fluff, is hard to block, but doesn’t lend itself to power strikes.

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At 50 seconds he points out that you don’t really needs dozens or hundreds of techniques, what you really need is a “kill shot.” I wholeheartedly agree: Ultimately it comes down to whether or not you can shut someone down. As I say, your aim is not to hit the guy, but to drop him. Hitting is merely a means to an end, and if your strikes are not dropping him, then you’re not striking correctly.

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At 3:15 he teaches a great move. Not only does he show a low strike to the knee, but also how to cover and get back out intact.

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The ambush is the natural technique of predators, including human predators. The lion doesn’t seek the healthiest hippo and challenge it. Instead, it stealthily attacks the weakest, most isolated member of the herd. A bass doesn’t square off against its prey –it lies hidden, then suddenly explodes on an injured fish or a juvenile.

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The ambush technique negates every single aspect of the martial artist’s assumptions, as in the following:

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The Threat is Known:  The ambush is an unpredictable attack by an unknown person or persons. At the tournament, you know that you’ll fight at 11:00, or right after the brown belt kumite finishes. On the street you are attacked at any time, often at a moment of vulnerability, such as when your arms are full of groceries or you are using the restroom.

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The Threat is Constant: If the attacker(s) has a weapon, it will often be concealed, and come into play when you don’t expect it. Just when you think the fight is one-on-one, an accomplice or accomplices may join in the fight. Things may be going great until you slip on the icy sidewalk, and there’s no referee to intervene.

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Balance:  If a mugger were looking for a challenge, he’d join a boxing gym. The ambush attacker chooses people younger, smaller, older, weaker, etc., than he is. If he chooses a victim bigger or stronger than he is, it will most likely be when the victim is drunk or distracted.

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Sparring:  A mugger does not spar. There is no careful measuring of distance, “feeler” jabs, testing rounds, tactical in and out movement, etc. The street thug does not rope-a-dope, try to win on points, or save his strength for the later rounds. The assault is all-out, and explosive.  Everything the mugger has is dumped on you in a single instant, full-force, and from the first moment it is pedal-to-the-metal.

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The Fight:  You are not in a “fight.” You are under attack. Your only cue that the “fight” has started is when you are hit. If you win (survive) there is no guarantee that it is “over”  –the punk and his buddies can return at any time, and retaliation may include your home, your family, your business, etc. There are no rules or referees. Even “winning” may entail horrific loss, such as legal charges, a lawsuit, living in fear, injuries, a constant feeling of insecurity, and so on.

The guy you “beat” can be expected to return with a gun and/or his buddies.

Even a gunfight won’t be at what you think is a gunfight range, but uncomfortably close. You are more likely to get unexpectedly socked at nose-to-nose range than to be called out from the other end of the bar or the parking lot.

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You really need to ask yourself what are the dangers posed by the ambush, how prepared you are to face one, and what you can do to prepare yourself for the most realistic and totally unfair threat, the ambush.

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In this post I’d like to examine the assumptions of many martial arts, which often exist outside of the stylist’s awareness.

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Balance:  In martial arts training we typically operate under conditions of balance. If you are unarmed, I am unarmed. If you have a knife, I have a knife, often identical to yours. If you have two sticks, I have two sticks. White belts spar white belts and black belts spar black belts. Sparring partners are matched for height, rank, and age.

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Sparring:  In our training, fighting is measured, strategic. You do “A,” I do “B.” You do a move, I do a counter move. We spar at a medium range, where we block, punch, counter, block, strike, parry, counter.

Yet if we look at stick fights in which people have no armor, who really stand to get hurt, they NEVER fight at medium range. They either fight long or rush in close. Still, every kali seminar and DVD on the planet is based on the medium range tit-for-tat –if my opponent does this, I do that, to which he counters, but I respond to his counter…

What happens when your opponent is enraged, and rushes in with total disregard for his safety, throwing everything at you?

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The Fight: Every fight has a beginning and an end, a winner and a loser. Kudos to the Dog Brothers, who have no trophies. Once you have trophies, you fall into the whole winner vs. loser paradigm. People begin to game the system to “win.” Take the case of the eskrima competition where a person could dive, sliding along the floor and strike the opponent’s ankle. Winner! In real life, the guy lying on the floor would get stomped to death.

Consider the Trayvon Martin case. Trayvon was beating the crap out of George Zimmerman. He was “winning.” Until George pulled out a gun and shot him. So George is the winner, right? Well, George is in fear for his life, that someone may avenge Trayvon. Two years from now George could get jumped by a gang intent on revenge. So when exactly did that fight end?

Consider the case of the guy who was blown away by a shotgun while sitting on a barstool. Earlier in the evening he had “won” a fight, which was then officially “over” in his mind. The loser who shoots up the party never has the gun on him, but always returns later after he has been beaten, ejected, or refused entrance.

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En Media Res:  Sorry, this was my chance to use a big literary term which means, “In the middle of things.” Most martial arts training bouts begin in the middle of the fight. How did the fight start? How did the situation escalate? How is it that a stick just materialized in each guy’s hand? Those sticks must have come from somewhere.

What happens when the guy starts chest bumping you at MacDonald’s because he imagines or pretends you were looking at him funny? Is the finger in the chest the time to start the fight? Is a verbal threat the cue to fight? But wait, you can’t fight because he’s too close. Fights in the dojo start when you’re six feet apart. Fights in the dojo don’t start until the sensei shouts “Hajime!”

This habit of starting in the middle of things means the student never gets to learn when to strike, or how to maintain distance, or how to defend himself when the guy is nose-to-nose with him, and the opponent’s angry spittle is flying in his face. The student never learns how to access his weapon. In the dojo you just start with the knife in your hand, but on the street you’re getting socked in the face, and that knife is somewhere, but it’s a folder, and you’ve got to –sock, sock, slam head into pavement– open that knife, if you could just get to it, but now you feel like you’re fading to black.

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Knowable/Constant: In the dojo, you know who your opponent is. You know when the fight will start. You can be confident that the guy you are supposed to fight will not attack you in the bathroom, nor that one of his friends will come out of the stands and help him out. The guy you’re randori-ing won’t have a knife hidden in his gi.

The fight is constant, in that if you start out against one opponent, you will not only know who that opponent is, you can be confident that a second person won’t leap in. He won’t pull out a second weapon or gain access to a second weapon in the course of the fight.

Yet in real life you don’t necessarily know who your opponent is. Is that angry guy going to punch you, or is he just all talk? Is that guy looking on going to jump you when your back is turned, or is he just a bystander?

The Trayvon Martin shooting shows how much of combat is unknown and dynamic, meaning that the situation changes, rather than remaining constant. According to one account, Zimmerman had lost track of Trayvon, but then got surprised as he returned to his vehicle. His knowledge of who was an opponent and even where his opponent was, were incomplete. Trayvon hit Zimmerman, not realizing he was armed with a gun.  In the middle of the fight, the situation drastically changed for Trayvon, whose knowledge was also incomplete.

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The Unexamined Context:  These are the hundreds of artifacts of an artificial environment, one more resembling a holodeck in Star Trek than the real environment where someone is likely to punch you in the mouth. You’re barefooted in the dojo. You’re wearing a Japanese kimono, or carrying a rattan stick (native to Idaho, right?). You’re never fighting in a car, in the office, or while seated at a table. The lighting is good and there’s no snow or rain on the floor.  You’re carrying a machete, just like everyone else at Taco Bell. If only I had a nickle for every machete fight going down in the United States!

And remember, anyone who mugs you is not allowed to bite, pull hair, or grab the groin. And NO kicking when you’re down.

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Morpheus: I won’t lie to you, Neo. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, everyone who has fought an agent has died. But where they have failed, you will succeed.

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Neo: Why?

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Morpheus: I’ve seen an agent punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based in a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.

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The above lines are from one of my favorite movies, The Matrix. Morpheus is telling Neo that as fearsome as the Agents may be, they still operate under certain rules. For the person who operates outside of those rules, Agents are no longer invincible.

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There is a similar flaw within the martial arts. We operate under rules (what you can and cannot do) and certain assumptions about reality. Picture the most fearsome MMA champion you can imagine, an Anderson Silva or a Matt Hughes. As impressive as this fighter is, he still operates under certain rules. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and similar mixed martial arts are very effective styles, yet they are still constrained by rules, and limited by unspoken assumptions.

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Despite the perception of the UFC as “no holds barred,” there are, in fact, rules.

• The following acts constitute fouls in a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts and may result in penalties, at the discretion of the referee, if committed:
• Butting with the head
• Eye gouging of any kind
• Biting
• Spitting at an opponent
• Hair pulling
• Fish hooking
• Groin attacks of any kind
• Putting a finger into any orifice or any cut or laceration of an opponent
• Small joint manipulation
• Striking downward using the point of the elbow
• Striking to the spine or the back of the head
• Kicking to the kidney with a heel
• Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
• Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
• Grabbing the clavicle
• Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
• Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
• Stomping a grounded opponent
• Holding the fence
• Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
• Using abusive language in fenced ring/fighting area
• Engaging in any unsportsmanlike conduct that causes injury to an opponent
• Attacking an opponent on or during the break
• Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
• Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the round
• Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
• Throwing opponent out of ring/fighting area
• Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
• Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck
• Interference by the corner
• Applying any foreign substance to the hair or body to gain an advantage.

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This has become all the rage now, martial artists studying BJJ as the most realistic, most effective martial art. But how many are aware as they grapple that they are operating in a system with rules, so that no one will eye gouge, pull hair, bite, grab their groin, or get them in a fingerlock?

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Backing up even further, suppose we look down on the MMA ring from high above. What are options the rules do not even consider? What are the possibilities that exist outside of the rules’ consideration?

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It doesn’t say that you can’t use or conceal a weapon. It doesn’t say that you can’t have hooks or razors on your clothing. The rules don’t say you can’t kick someone with steel toe boots, because shoes are prohibited. Even though you can’t get help from your corner, it doesn’t say anywhere that you can’t have someone else come from the stands into the ring to help you.

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I believe this is the root of the Black-Belt-Gets-Wiped-Out-on-the-Street Syndrome. The black belt excels and is dominant in a specific environment where certain rules apply. When he is outside of that environment, outside the matrix, suddenly those rules no longer apply.

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One of my favorite stories is of my Thai boxing teacher, Khru Paul Metayo. He was studying Tae Kwon Do (Why? I have no idea.) when the guy he was sparring started getting rough with him. Under those rules, the Korean stylist was beating him. Khru Paul got angry and forgot the rules. He kicked the guy’s legs, punishing him. Because this attack was outside of his reality, the Tae Kwon Do expert had no defense against the leg kick.

In pain, he yelled out, “Hey, you can’t do that!”

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Another shopper pulled out a gun and ordered the knife-wielding psycho to drop it, or he’d shoot. The maniac complied, and was later arrested.

Some Lessons:

What Is Safe?  I have previously pointed out that many people are relying on probability as a “method” of self-defense. In other words, this person takes comfort in the fact that statistically he is unlikely to take a Bowie knife to the ear canal today. However, for the person bleeding on aisle 9, feeling herself getting weak from blood loss and not knowing once she fades to black if she will ever wake up again, there is little comfort in knowing that your gutting was statistically unlikely.

I realize here that I am getting slack, and tend to judge a trip in broad daylight to the “good” part of town as safe. It’s probably safer, but not certainly safer.

Although this may sound contradictory, I noticed in Fresno that two different Target franchises in separate parts of town were vastly different stores with different clientele. While going to the better Target in the better part of town was no guarantee of safety, it still made sense to travel the extra distance to the better store in the better part of town.

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Are You Armed?  Yes, I advocate the big stick, but if you can legally carry a gun, are proficient in its use, and are prepared to use it responsibly, then carry a gun.

But here again I find myself slacking. If I leave for the store from the house, I am always armed. But if I leave from work, where I can’t legally be armed, and stop by the store on the way home, I am typically unarmed. So I have resolved to remedy this.

When the guy goes crazy with a knife, your unarmed skills are sadly lacking. You had better have some kind of weapon. Think of the shopper who tried to defend himself, and got cut up in the process. Being a black belt, Supreme Datu, or Ultimate Grandmaster doesn’t make it any easier –the odds are still against you.

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Can You Arm Yourself in the Store?  Be prepared to slam a bottle over the back of the psycho knife-wielder’s head, or cave in his skull with a can of beans. You probably didn’t learn that in the dojo, but this is reality when there’s blood on the floor and people are dying.

I’ve thought of writing a book entitled Wal-Mart Arsenal, in which I detail the weapons that can be picked off the shelf at a Wal-Mart. If you can do this, you will not only always be armed, but you will get a grasp of the types of weapons you are likely to confront. Being able to use and defend against a baseball bat, a hammer, a tent stake, a beer bottle, etc., you’ll be better off than the guy who knows all 50 weapons (e.g. bullwhip, double stick, spear and shield, battle axe) taught in the “complete” kali school.

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Support Self-Defense Rights  In the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting, many have called for the repeal of gun rights and the general right to arm oneself for self-defense. As this incident shows, even if every gun had somehow magically disappeared from the earth, the psycho still would have had the knife and still would have been able to kill innocent people at will. Only someone with a gun was able to end the attack non-violently. If I had tried to stop the attack with a bat or a couple of bottles, things would have gone much worse, both for the psycho and myself.

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I have written about body shot knockouts previously (See here, here, and here.) It has become clear to me that the body shot is a viable technique, and just as effective as counting on a head shot to knock someone out, especially when you’re bare fisted.

Study the highleet reel above.

1) Knockout Number 1    From a right lead stance, the stance that I practice and advocate, the left leg round kick is potentially devastating to the opponent’s liver. Like many liver knockouts, the kick doesn’t seem to be especially powerful, but the effect on the opponent totally shuts him down.

2) Knockout Number 2   I have written previously about the suplex. This overlooked move –in this case, a body slam– is a potential fight-ender. Imagine slamming someone onto the pavement or onto a car or brick planter.

3) Knockout Number 3   The classic hook punch to the liver. The reason why the third shot drops the opponent is that the puncher doesn’t step off to the side until the third punch, and then he has the right angle.

4) Knockout Number 4   The left round kick again. Note how big the guy is, and he crumbles like a brittle cookie.

5) Knockout Number 5   This one and number 9 surprised me. Here the spinning back kick comes up at a perfect angle to hit the liver. This seems a much more realistic and effective target than to aim for the head with this kick.

6)  Knockout Number 6   Another hook to the liver. This shows that a bare-knuckle liver shot knockout is very much possible.

7)  Knockout Number 7   Looks like a knee. From the right forward stance, the left leg and knee can target the liver with very powerful shots.

8)  Knockout Number 8   It is common in a liver shot knockout (another left round kick) to see a delayed reaction. The liver KO is not as quick as a head shot, by about a second or two, but is just as incapacitating.

9)  Knockout Number 9  A spinning back kick. How many people who do this kick actually target the liver?

Polapady Confronts Robber

In Toronto, an Indian restaurant owner tired of thefts and police inaction confronted a robber behind his restaurant. He was also defending his home, because he and his family live upstairs. (Video here.)

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In a story eerily similar to my Chicano Pepper Spray post, the restaurant owner Polapady faced the robber with a broomstick as well as a backup weapon -Masala powder. Although I don’t recommend a broomstick as a defensive weapon due to its lightness, one source states the robber needed stitches at the hospital from a head injury caused by Polapady’s broom handle.

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“Polapady, who has since been dubbed Spiceman, called 911 and police found a man with his eyes still burning.” Apparently Polapady threw Masala powder, a fiery Indian spice, into the eyes of the robber.

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Polapady illustrates an interesting concept –carry a stick and spice powder as a backup. If the opponent closes, you smear the chili powder in his eyes. I remember hearing accounts of football legend Conrad Dobler, who had a reputation as the dirtiest player in pro football, smearing lye in his opponent’s eyes during pile ups.  Once again, chili powder is cheap, legal, and unlikely to cause lasting injury.

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Unfortunately, though, the story doesn’t end there. Polapady was arrested for injuring the robber, who was subsequently released! This is a sad commentary on the decline of a society, in which an ineffectual police force finds it easier to prosecute honest citizens than to tackle real hoodlums in the streets, and in which it appears that criminals have more rights than the decent people who make society work.

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Chicano Pepper Spray

Eduardo Pérez is a friend of mine, although I haven’t seen him in years. He’s very fond of Olde English 800 ( a malt liquor beer that packs a punch), and because he knows he’s often too drunk to drive, he pedals his bike everywhere. He is a colorful guy who tells fascinating stories of his life.

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Because he often finds himself alone, and drunk, he’s been the target of attempted muggings. I say “attempted” because Ed has a secret ace –chili powder. Ed often carries chili powder in his pocket. In the event of trouble he can fling the powder into the face of his opponent. He can also move in close and smear a handful of the crushed chili into someone’s eyes, nose, and mouth.

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In the old days police used mace, which is a chemical irritant. (My father, a retired policeman, tells me of billy clubs that shot mace.) Mace was hit and miss; sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. My dad and his partner arrested a drunk one night who was impervious to the effects of mace.There was so much mace on this guy that my dad and his partner were crying. They had to roll down the windows, but the drunk in the back was unfazed.

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The next innovation in chemical defense was pepper spray. It has been found that pepper spray works without fail, even on wild dogs, bears, and alligators! What is the active ingredient in pepper spray? The same irritant that is found in chili peppers. My friend Ed was carrying around “pepper spray” before there was such a thing as pepper spray.

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Lessons Learned  What can you take away from this?

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1)  Look Out for the Street Fighter. You often hear talk of the “street fighter,” and for good reason. The street fighter may not be the world’s most skilled fighter, but he’s long on sneaky and dirty. Don’t underestimate anybody. That old drunk guy you think you can just roll over may have an ace up his sleeve that you haven’t considered.

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2)  Do You Really Want to Fight in Close? If you fought Ed at a distance, he’d be in trouble. But if you get in close, look out. He also carries a folding knife, which he used to repeatedly stab the arm of a would-be mugger who tried to get him in a chokehold as Ed was staggering home one night.

Think about it –at a distance an inebriated Ed would have trouble moving toward you without falling, but in close even a drunk can lean on you and smear chili in them, or gouge them, for that matter.

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3)  File This Away. Someday the pocket full of chili powder could be your ace in the hole. You don’t need a permit, it’s legal, it’s dirt cheap, and it doesn’t create lasting damage that could come back to haunt you in court.

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He añadido un nuevo enlace a un sitio web, Eskrima Kombat, para todos mis lectores hispanohablantes.

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