The statement I really liked from Rory’s blog is:
“If you are teaching self-defense what you can do within your weight class doesn't mean anything. You need to teach people what works outmatched in strength, skill, experience and ferocity. How to deal when the assault is on before they are aware. And help them work out and overcome much of their social programming.
It can be done. It has been done. But not by staying in your comfort zone perspective.”
Fantastic point, however I think because of some of the terms used the point is being lost by those with a sport or weight class mentality. Some of the feed back received was along the lines of this:
Comfort zone is key magical secret weapon that opens the door to mastery; women's class in bjj school is like a miracle. Guard's basically rape defense, nightmarish for a scared woman to practice with rough sweaty guys. With other women, not so bad. After a few weeks or months of rolling around with other women maybe try the small handsome nice-smelling married guy....
It's not like there's a shortcut*; you can't just skip to handling big strong tough guys before you can handle people your own size and conditioning, whatever that may be.
So what should be taught to female cops, only arrest women, children and small men?
*Well,okay; guns. Stun guns and pepper spray work on *people*, sure, but not attackers. Knives work but you have to be... harder in spirit, let us say... than a shooter. You can get good enough to kill efficiently with a handgun via video games, let alone paintball, Airsoft, squirt guns....
How do guns not work on attackers?, but I digress
Or
Comment - All things equal, skill wins a fight. I'm not there to make things equal. Meet me at the freeweights.
Rory Miller -- all things equal, anything unequal decides the fight. Then you have to consider how different assaults are from fights.
Comment - True enough. I've found that its hard to convince people into the gym and out of the dojo. I just had a jujitsu blackbelt at worlds take 7th when he should have taken top 3 from lack of stamina. I freely admit to winning many matches b/c of outlasting opponents.
Yes, you can outlast opponents in your weight class. That is a great sport strategy. The point being you don’t get to chose who attacks you and attackers rarely attack men larger and fitter then them selves.
Attacking is a predatory act. Just as animals prey on smaller weaker creatures to eat so do human predators.
What you can do within your weight class doesn't mean anything.
It is easy for large male martial artists to get sucked into or stuck in that sport or weight class mentality.
I’m a huge advocate of making yourself as strong and fit as possible. The Super Soldier project is all about that.
Being strong and fit is great self defense in that you are a hard target and predators will look for easier prey.
You’ve all heard the line – There is always someone out there bigger or badder than you.
Some times it is hard for men to believe that. “There ain't no one badder and I’ll catch up to those bigger by hitting the free weights”.
That is a very male perspective, and one that is backed by experience. Every summer high school boys are in the gym packing on muscle to get bigger for football, and it works.
But let’s take a different perspective. Lise is just over 5’ and around 120 lbs. I am ¼ of her height taller and over twice as heavy as she is.
That would be like me fighting someone 7’3” 500lbs. No amount of strength training is going to make a difference against an EXPONENTIALLY larger attacker.
You need to teach people what works outmatched in strength, skill, experience and ferocity.
There aren’t many 7’3” 500 pounders out there so men miss this point. However, being outmatched in strength, skill, experience and ferocity is the starting point for Lise (and most women).
In order to teach self defense we must break that large male sport martial artist mentality.
Teach what works for Lise against me.
If nothing in your art would work for you against a 7’3” 500 pounder, then don’t teach your art as self defense.
BJJ guard is not rape defense!!!
Here is an example from the news right here in Ramsey County
The man walked away, but left behind his keys, wallet and bicycle. Police tracked him through his
The
According to the complaint:
Police were called to the 300 block of
About five minutes later, when the woman was walking past an alley, the same man dragged her into the alley.
[The assault is on before they are aware.]
The man "had his forearm around her neck and was squeezing hard to prevent her from screaming for help," the complaint said. "He also covered her mouth with his hand. Once in the alley, he threw her to the ground, let go of her neck and attempted to pull her shorts off."
[Outmatched in strength, skill, experience and ferocity]
The woman said she immediately started screaming for help and fighting back. The man punched her several times on the side of her head.
After she punched and kicked him, the man left.
The woman's shorts had been pulled down to her ankles. The man hadn't said anything to her during the attack, she said. He had touched her breasts when dragging her and pulling on her shirt, but hadn't been able to touch her genitals.
When the man was gone, she realized he'd dropped his belongings and gave them to police. She pointed out where he'd been locking his bike and police found that one of the keys left behind unlocked it.
The photo ID listed him as Cha Yang and the woman told police, "That's definitely him, I'm sure that's him, just his hair is shorter now," the complaint said.
At about 6 a.m. Monday, police went to the Union Gospel Mission and saw Cha Yang in the parking lot. He tried to hide inside the mission, but officers went in and arrested him.
Police asked Cha Yang whether he had any identification with him. He said he did not because he'd left his wallet at a friend's house the night before.
Police tried to talk to Cha Yang, and he requested an attorney. He is being held in the
She didn’t pull guard or try for an uma platta.
[It's not like there's a shortcut*; you can't just skip to handling big strong tough guys before you can handle people your own size and conditioning, whatever that may be.] – Sport mentality
She smashed that dude’s face with a rock and fought like hell. – Self Defense mentality
She made herself more trouble / work than it was worth and a larger stronger more ferocious predator ran away from her. - Overcoming social programing
That may not have won a Ju Jitsu world championship but it sure was a victory against a predatory assault.
And that is the point:
If you are teaching self-defense what you can do within your weight class doesn't mean anything. You need to teach people what works outmatched in strength, skill, experience and ferocity. How to deal when the assault is on before they are aware. And help them work out and overcome much of their social programming.
It can be done. It has been done. But not by staying in your comfort zone perspective.
Get out of your sport art comfort zone perspective.
Train hard, train smart, be safe
AMEN!!! About time men realize what you are speaking of.
ReplyDeleteTraining within the same weight class is safe. Even if you are training with someone with more skills than you. But it will never let you test the true efficiency of a technique.
And it's not just about dealing with someone stronger and bigger than you. When a large angry man comes at you screaming and threatening you... it's terrifying. I don't care how good a fighter you are , if you have never felt/ dealt with the "angry chi/ vibes", you need to add this to your training.
If you are never pushing the envelope with your students or partners, you are doing them a dis-service. After you have learned a particular skill, you need to put it to the test. You need to know how or if it works for you. When you are being attacked and your life depend on it , it's a little late to find this out.
Again... I owe a lot to my own sensei for not treating me like a girl. Thanks