The Science Of Street Combat
There are thousands of different martial art styles. Regardless of your particular discipline every human being must adhere to the same fundamental roots of martial science to maximize effectiveness. When you are attacked on the street where “anything goes” there is little margin for error. You must know how to handle a single attacker, multiple attackers, and even multiple attackers with weapons.
Fights in the ring and altercations on the street often last a long time. As both fighters maintain their balance this allows them to exchange back and forth with a variety of strikes and wrestling maneuvers. If you focus on disrupting the opponent’s balance the moment the confrontation begins he will have a difficult time trying to defeat you while simultaneously struggling to regain his balance. That is arguably one of the most powerful yet overlooked principles of the martial arts.
It is imperative that your martial art training focuses on strengthening your awareness. If your awareness is high it is much harder for an attacker to creep up on you and catch you off guard. If your mind is trained properly you can learn to spot trouble long before it begins. You can learn to remove yourself from situations before they escalate to a physical level.
It is crucial that you adapt your martial art to suit your personality and body type. If your training consists of mimicking someone else’s movements who may be bigger or smaller, stronger or weaker, or more athletic, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Trying to fight as though you are big when you are actually a small person is a dangerous way to train. You are most effective when you learn to accentuate your strengths by personalizing your martial art.
In many martial art schools students learn to defend themselves by rooting and throwing punches, kicks, or grappling in a stationary position. That can work well one on one in a controlled environment, but not in the street where you might have to defend yourself against three, four, or even eight attackers. If you look to nature and watch how animals fight or you research how warriors fought in the past on the battlefields you will see that they stayed in constant motion and capitalized on that momentum to evade and counter their attackers. You must learn to remain in constant motion for street self-defense.
To become a skilled martial artist you must learn to unbalance your opponent. If you focus on unbalancing your attacker the moment a confrontation ensues your assailant is going to have a difficult task trying to fight you while simultaneously fighting for his balance. Becoming proficient at unbalancing enables a smaller person to overcome someone who is stronger, larger, and even more skilled. Fights end swiftly when the opponent is robbed of his balance.
It is critical that you learn to defend yourself from all possible scenarios. The majority of martial artists learn common techniques against strikes and grabs while standing or on the ground. What about learning to defend yourself while sitting in a chair or car, standing in a phone booth, elevator, or stairwell, or defending yourself while both your arms are held or bound? In the street there are no worst-case scenarios just realistic scenarios and you better be prepared.
Sensei David Weinberg is a 3rd Degree Black Belt and Instructor of Freedman’s Method Ketsugo Jujutsu, a Reiki Master, a Certified Personal Trainer, and an Integrative Flexibility Specialist. To learn more about Freedman’s Method, visit the official jujitsu nh site or the official jujutsu nh blog.
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