Knowledge is something that is acquired but that you still need to work on over time through practice. It is acquired as opposed to innate knowledge which is in us from birth. A reflex is therefore not a knowledge but rather an automatic reaction to any stimulus, a reaction over which we generally have no control.
It is the result of evolution that is irremediably engraved in us. Unfortunately, these reflexes can be counterproductive when we are in danger. Indeed, as mentioned before, what used to be valid in prehistoric times is no longer today, our brain not having evolved as quickly as civilization!
Hence to counterbalance this in self defense, it is helpful to work on the extension of our first reflexes.
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Reflex VS Automatism: what’s the difference?
As we’ve said before, a reflex is an automatic reaction to a stimulus.
To put it more simply, the brain which normally processes the information before sending the appropriate response does not intervene in the execution of a reflex since the information circuit is shorter. Following the stimulus, a signal is picked up and transmitted by a receptor (for example, the nociceptors in the skin which carry pain information), a signal which transits to the spinal cord or to the brain stem which, in return, will send a second signal to the motor functions in order to provoke a reaction, such as removing your hand from a hot plate.
In other words, there are three successive phases: the perception of the information, the processing of the information, and then the response to this information. This sequence of events constitutes the reaction time.
The brain won’t process the information which only lasts a few milliseconds, although the duration varies according to the nature of the stimulus, whether it is visual, auditory, tactile, etc.
On the other hand, an automatism is not an innate mechanism since we acquired it with time and practice. The information received therefore passes to the brain, which will analyze and process it. The reaction time is a little longer in this case, and although the repetition of automatisms reduce it since the brain is used to deal with this information, a portion of the nerve impulse’s pathway remains incompressible.
Hence, a reflex is a movement that is inherently faster than an automatism.
self defense techniques, as you will have understood, become automatisms. Automatically you tell yourself: this attack = that defense.
Optimize automatisms through the extension of reflexes
Reflexes and automatisms are both parasitized by stress, which necessarily occurs in the face of danger. Reflexes prevail over automatisms and some of them can sometimes prove to be absolutely harmful (this is the case, for example, of the “sideration” effect, when a victim is paralyzed by fear). We are not all equal in this respect, and sometimes quite a lot of self-conditioning may be necessary in addition to self defense training in order to help the brain come out of this paralysis in the fraction of a second that follows the tetany reflex. But it is also necessary to be aware that you are prone to these effects of stupefaction, which generally implies having already been a victim of an aggression.
Yet it is certain that a reflex will always come out first in the event of danger, even when you are stressed out.
If natural reflexes occur faster and easier than automatisms under stress, it is therefore necessary to adapt your work on automatisms in consequence.
Knowing that only a small percentage of your technical skills remain under stress, you may wonder if there is any point in working on techniques. The answer is obvious: it is better to have only 5% of some automatisms than 0% of absolutely nothing otherwise you have 100% chances of being smashed to death!
However, you need to work smart and understand that stress management is something you have to work on first since the better you know how to manage your stress, the better your techniques will come out. And secondly techniques must follow a certain logic.
If your counterattack is too complex and goes against your natural reflexes, it will fail in most cases.
Thus, instead of raising your hands to protect yourself from an attack, you’d better work on the continuity of this movement!
Then instead of simply raising your hands to protect yourself, technical work in self defense will consist of extending this movement doing a cover, for example.
This is what the extension of reflexes is all about. The idea is not to work against the reflex but rather in its continuity, so that the sequence is as fluid and natural as possible.
