Back to the subject of weapons – the second part of
Musashi’s list of things that we must understand if we are to study the sword
(or in our case, combatives generally). Last time we looked at the softer
weapons of voice, appearance, disposition, and running away – all options at
our disposal in a combatives situation. This time I want to concentrate on the
more familiar weapons of striking and the like. I shall do so with a series of
distinctions.
The first distinction is that between armed and unarmed
tools. Unarmed combatives, as our modern founder W.E. Fairbairn once said, is
for those situations when we’ve been caught without a weapon. Humans are
tool-bearing animals; they make us more efficient. This is true in combat too.
It’s easier to nullify a threat if we can use a tool to do so. Things are
somewhat different in civilian contexts today, especially in countries such as
the UK where the carrying of any weapon is illegal, and the use of an
improvised weapon would have to meet extremely tight legal constraints. The
vast majority of instances will be unarmed combatives.
The effective combatives practitioner should possess a
primary arsenal of strikes – knock-out blows – that are capable of being
delivered from different ranges and angles, and with either hand and from
positions of restriction. This is the main artillery. To that should be added a
series of secondary tools, such as close weapons (biting, gouging, etc.) or
throws, to get back to our primary weapons for ending the fight. To this we
should add supplemental tools for different situations – choking, restraining,
and so forth.
The unarmed tools, properly structured and trained, are our
primary focus and we should spend the vast majority of our time training, learning,
honing, perfecting them; using them in simulations and scenarios; making them
second nature.
Yet, we should not think this is the limit of our list of
weapons. Using our weapons is one thing – we become more efficient – but we
also need to understand weapons that may be used against us. Not everyone
trains the same. Learning how others do things – from the street goblin with
his deception and right hook, to the athletic, conditioned and skilled MMA
competitor – is crucial to being combatively effective. Musashi appreciated
this aspect. His weapon was the sword, but he learned how to use all the
weapons of his day – scythes, staffs, spears, bows – not for proficiency to the
level that he pursued in the sword, but to learn how to deal with those weapons
in the hands of adversaries. Knowledge really is power. Someone who takes
combatives seriously (and I don’t mean the hobby trainer or person that just
wants a few skills from a year or two of training) needs to cross train. They
need to study the current weapons on the market and in use. Here I would
suggest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), boxing, muay thai, judo, Brasilian Jiu Jitsu,
and maybe some Kung Fu and Karate. The first are becoming increasingly popular
with the explosion of MMA events such as the UFC, and more and more people are
training in them. Get to know the weapons and methods of the enemy.
The same goes for armed combatives. To be complete, the
combatives expert needs to be versed in the usage of an array of weapons.
Knives and other blades, impact weapons (sticks or stick-like objects),
firearms, sprays (CS gas, pepper spray etc), and improvised weapons, should all
be added to the mix, and competency sought in all areas. The use of such
weapons may be heavily restricted in certain areas – in the UK we cannot carry
any of the above in public nor fashion anything with that intention – but, we
may find ourselves in circumstances when such skill would be useful. Many
people travel to parts of the world where such weapons are permitted. Home
invasion or burglaries are increasingly common in parts of the UK and such
weapons might be more readily available to use (though they still come with
legal restraints). If states continue to “fail” – as places such as Greece
appear to be at the moment – a more general lawlessness might follow where such
constraints are lifted. More importantly, however, the criminal element pays
little attention to legal limitations and carries and uses such weapons on the
lawful. Like Musashi, we should seek to know and understand any weapon that
might be used against us in order to improve our chances of overcoming an
attack with one.
To these we should add some other critical tools or skills
that the modern combatives exponent should possess. First, a basic First Aid
qualification (available as a 5 day course in the UK) that covers the vast
majority of emergency cases we will ever likely face. If a trauma course can be
added to this, then even better. (And don’t forget, this is one tool we should
be carrying with us all the time, a small first aid kit). Second, some advanced
driving qualification, and, even better, a defensive driving course or two.
Being able to use a vehicle in an emergency is critical. Most people’s driving
standards are awful, especially under pressure and at speed. Some basic
training available from commercial companies is good fun and saves lives.
Beyond this we might think about generally available
survival skills (urban and otherwise), if we have the interest, but here we are
expanding the spectrum beyond the combatives.
D
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