Streetfighter mindset

[sanjuro_ronin]

Matt Thorton on the "streetfighter mindset"

http://www.straightblastgym.com/problem.htm

[sanjuro_ronin]

This part here caught my attention a bit:

When it comes to weapons this was addressed to a degree in the previous posts here:

Regards the stick fighting, to actually be able to fight with a stick one would have to start by throwing out the majority of the "Kali" that is typically taught, and almost all the 'drills', which are little more then two man Kata which teach one what not to do. And even then, left with functional, powerful strikes, and realistic methods of defense, the ground will still often occur, and ko's will not always be easy.

As far as defending against a knife, again it can be, and is done. But one would have to throw out the majority of the "Kali" empty hand tapi-tapi type drills taught, and go to a control position such as offered by Karl in the STAB program, Jerry with the RedZone, and Burton's two on 1 baseball grip variations.

Coincidentally I had a conversation yesterday regarding a police officer who had been stabbed multiple times by large mental patient on a call a few days ago. Apparently the officer is ok, but he was surprised to relate that he didn't realize his opponent even had a knife until he had been stuck several times, because to him at that time it felt like 'a minor strike'. That seems to be fairly typical. It also has to be why they attack the way they do with a shank in prison. . .having realized this reality a LONG time ago.

On a positive note that department will now be working STAB with Paul Sharp.

In Jerry Wetzel's Red Zone video there is a great section where Jerry's wife, who is a practicing MD, goes into detail regarding the bodies actual process for going into shock. And much of the mythology of knife fighting is cleared up there as well. I'd highly recommend that video for anyone serious on this subject.

[sanjuro_ronin]

agree with Matt on many things and most of what he said in this article.
But, and there is always a but, at time I think that Matt uses only one side of the coin and ignores the other, ex:

"Coincidentally I had a conversation yesterday regarding a police officer who had been stabbed multiple times by large mental patient on a call a few days ago. Apparently the officer is ok, but he was surprised to relate that he didn't realize his opponent even had a knife until he had been stuck several times, because to him at that time it felt like 'a minor strike'. That seems to be fairly typical. It also has to be why they attack the way they do with a shank in prison. . .having realized this reality a LONG time ago."

Here Matt seem to forget all the cases of people dying with just a few stab wounds or from having their throat slashed just once or their gut slit open.
As for prison, most prison docs will tell you the issues with shankings done "RIGHT" or those the stab and break.
If some one wants to kill (as opposed to make a statement as in the cases of the mulittple stabbing to the body) they usually go for the kidney stab and break, of the stab to the chest or throat and break.

Yes, there are cases of people walking into the emergency rooms with a knife stuck in the head, also cases of people shot in the fac and head multiples times and coming out just fine, BUT the reason we knwo fo these is because they are far and few between, ask any ER person in a violent city how many deaths from stabbings they see.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Another view from the Centerline Gym:

http://centerlinegym.com/close_quarter_combat.htm

Grapplers will say 98% of all real fights go to the ground, so take them there. Stand up fighters say all fights start standing up, keep them there. Reality says street fights take place at any or all ranges so you’d better be prepared to fight anywhere. This being said there is one particular range that is most conducive to ending a fight quickly: Close quarters. Most fights take place in the space of a phone booth. Unlike sportive fighting, we will not have the luxuries of knowing our opponent, referees, consent, room for dancing around, etc. Usually our fight will begin within arms reach with some kind of verbal escalation. When things do go physical we will be dealing with an emotionally disturbed person who has absolute harmful intent and does not care what martial art you’ve studied. He will be a flailing, yelling, whirlwind of aggression.

Keeping this kind of attacker in mind it would be difficult, at best, to try to finish this encounter in punching range. Many thugs can take a good punch or kick, and shrug it off with a smile. Add an adrenalin dump or drugs, and he probably won’t even feel any hits, or he will just get more enraged.

On the other side of the coin, should I decide to take him to the ground, I run into another set of problems. He may produce a weapon (a recent survey reported 70% of all street confrontations involve a weapon). It is difficult to hold a mount while your opponent is using your bladder to repeatedly sheath and unsheathe his pocketknife. He may just decide to hang on to you while his buddies take turns doing their best impression of Michael Flatly “lord of the dance” on your head.

This article is not meant to belittle other arts. There are times and situations which may dictate taking someone to the ground (law enforcement, drunken friend/relative) and there are times when I might be able to keep someone at bay with punches and kicks until the fight can be broken up. However, this is only prolonging the inevitable and when your life is on the line you will want to utilize the tools and tactics that can end the fight quickly. This essay is meant to illustrate the main goals and strategies of close quarter combat and to describe the main tools utilized at this range.

The goal in close quarter combat (CQC) is to overwhelm your opponent using the most barbaric vicious natural tools on your body to attack the most vulnerable targets on your opponent. Lets take a look at some of these tools and their primary targets:

Elbows—face, head, throat

Knees—thighs, groin, stomach, ribs, head/face

Head butt—face

Hands---eyes (raking, gouging), throat (hacking) fish hooking

Bite—face, neck, ears

Note: the rest is on the website, click the link.