Another cold morning, 28 degrees, but 4 strong men decided to challenge themselves in the art of war. One common charactoristic that is evident in the F3 pax is their dedication and discipline. It is amazing to see a group of men get togehter in the gloom, just about every day, regardless of the weather.
We have been training on seperate components of battle for some time, so,,, this morning we started putting these tactics together. Combining the hand techniques with the legs techniques,,, add in movement and a focused attack on at least three seperate targets and then remembering to focus on the controll of both our own (and the opponents) Balance, rotation and movement is not an easy thing to do. But this is where the fun begins…. especially since we added what is called bumping. We need to get used to contacting another human body. The feel of bone moving under the skin, the feel of the hand pushing into a rib or jaw (just a bit) are unusal sensation (for each) and we all must get used to these feelings in order to advance further. These contact drills will become a regular part of the training, and some bruises will be created but so will the sharpening of the bones,, which increases the ability to create the desired result in another person.
First we practiced setting the jaw. When most think of fighting, we think of hitting the hardest with every strike. This morning we practiced the concept of not swinging for the fences with each strike. It becomes much more effective to set body part in to a vulnerable position by using a lower level of force. The first technique uses a slight upward strike to the jaw followed by a much more powerful lateral strike to the jaw. This activates one of the "off" buttons in the back of the neck. We then continued the attack with a push break to the exposed leg. We have practiced these for some time and now they will become a nice addition to finish off the attack.
Next we practiced setting the neck. An upward double slap to the bottom of the jaw followed by a quick penetrating strike to the throat,, and of course the natural follow up of a push break to the leg. Each of these new techniques can be used as a stand alone attack or as part of an ongoing conflict.
Next we practiced moving from a center line attack in to an angled attack. Most attacks begin with an initial center line attack. These are typically easily defended, but they give way to the oppurtunity to redirect the focus off of center which will expose many vulnerabilities in an opponent. We started with a basic pulse fake (low to high) followed by a lateral move to the outside while controlling the approaching hand. An inward rotation allows us to attack the exposed ribs and follow with an elbow to the jaw. Though basic, it is a very effective attack. Attacks should consist of what we call 3 by 3,, this is three movements with three attacks in each. In a typical untrained fight, each person falls into a pattern of taking turns attacking and defending. With a maximum of two strikes in each attack. We need to break this pattern and train ourselves to continue with attacks and defenses at the same time moving to a position of advantage during each stage.
Tailhook and Finger looking good paired up while Motorboat and YHC bruised each other. At first, each man was a bit tentative about "bumping" but that gave way to more aggressive techniques. The techniques become easier to practice when some force is allowed to be applied to the desired targets. The limiting factor is typically the realization that the force you apply to the person you are practicing with will then get to apply force back on to you. So,,, we played nice. But as stated before, we need to get used to applying some level of force to different body parts. It allows the moves to be performed and learned more effectively,,, but it also allows us to understand how much force is required to create the desired result.
It is always amazing to watch the progress in each man while training. It is very noticable when the moves become a natural extension of the mind. In a few months we will move on to active combat drills (in a slowed speed). This is practiced until the confidence and timing of moves in real time is understood. With the weather looking to warm up in the next few weeks, it would be a good time to come down and join us. It is a lot of fun, and maybe a bit painful. But after a short amount of time each man will gain knowledge, skills and abilities that most will not have.
The comradery created during physical training has been noted throughout history. I thank you fine men for allowing YHC to share this system.