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“Don’t expect to move someone who won’t let you”
Fend off an aggressor is easier said than done. Everything is going well in training because we are complacent with our partners; this is natural, we don’t want to be “malicious” or even disrespectful in role-playing by putting up resistance.
Yet it must be repeated over and over again: an aggressor will not let you walk over him in real life.
Many situations are fantasized in martial arts and in self defense.
“If the aggressor does this, I do that, he will react this way, and I’ll do this, and so on.”
It’s great to integrate techniques, to assimilate concepts, gauge different reactions and scenarios possible, and understand biomechanics.
But it is nothing more than the first learning step that you don’t want to repeat for too long at the risk of losing sight of a real aggression, of its dangerousness and of how complex it is to handle.
Street is chaos. This is why you have to deeply integrate that what happens inside the dojo will never be the same as what happens outside (stress, unknown environment, different individuals, etc.).
Hence the importance to adapt, to improvise, and above all to train enough to intensify these aspects.
Moreover, a component that is omnipresent in training will be absent in the street, namely complacency.
If you fall on the floor at the gym a friendly hand will pick you up. In the street, a kick to the temple will pick you up.
Your friendly colleague lets himself be taken to the ground after a badly executed mow? Well your attacker will take advantage of this to knock YOU down and fire shots at you (or even stab you).
Febriously tugging on your training partner’s arm hoping to throw him or her behind you will most likely result in the desired effect. Forget about doing this when faced with a determined individual, it will backfire.
The message is therefore simple: an aggressor is not a punching bag, he can move.
Fend off an aggressor
Now that we stressed that point, you understand better that repelling an attacker in real life is not as easy as it is in training.
In self defense, it is usual to use the natural weapons of your body (hands, arms, knees, etc.) that are closest to the targets to fight back. “The shortest route.” Ideally!
However, it is quite likely that you will not be in an ideal situation to strike back by the book.
Never mind! Fight back as best you can, with the weapons at your disposal and the most favorable striking distance possible, but fight before anything else!
Try to induce openings, avoid fighting (e.g. instead of trying to pull an aggressor to you to make him fall behind you and unblock an escape point, try instead to work on your own positioning), in short try to move the situation if you cannot escape yet.
It is by dint of repetition that you will be able to assimilate the ripostes you have worked in training. But if this work does not come out identically in the street – which is unfortunately very likely since you’ll be stressed out – keep doing your best with what you have.
According to some experts, when stressed out, we retrieve 10% of our capacity, which seems quite realistic.
It is therefore essential not only to train to be prepared, but above all to train properly, as close as possible to reality.
Take the training a step further
Although it is praiseworthy not to interfere with the practice of your training partner’s techniques, it is important to make sure that once the technique has been assimilated, the training does not bog down in a casual repetition of ripostes.
Make it spicier adding a little resistance and imitating reactions in a plausible way. This way you add a touch of realism!
Taking the training a step further doesn’t make you malicious since it is the logical evolution of the exercise. Obviously, don’t forget to ask your partner if he’s ok with it.
Train in a more realistic way, fail, re-calibrate your movements according to the objective, take advantage of it to use training equipment adapted to the objective, this is the whole interest of an efficient self-training session. It is too late when you are in front of a fait accompli to realize you don’t know how to apply your techniques or how to improvise.
