Caution: The contents of this article are for education purposes only. The principles described are extremely dangerous and are for military close combat training and operations only. Their application applies solely to the military.
My military close combat courses incorporate a combating and familiarisation with enemy fighting arts of the world component.
These modules provide basic principles to combat both armed and unarmed enemy or style related fighting arts of the world.
In this, the first part of the combating enemy fighting arts of the world we are going to focus on combating close quarter grapplers in the upright clinch position.
You must remember in military close combat your first and best option would usually be deadly force with your primary weapon from a distance.
Failing your primary weapon, there would be your secondary weapon, your side arm.
Many of the combat fighting styles comprise of similar or shared aspects in the entry application, finishing and contingency phases that will be covered in the relevant parts of these files.
Grapplers obviously have unarmed entry offensive set ups, strikers have close quarter clinches and kickers have punches and clinching abilities. Regardless of the grapplers means of entry the best option is to combat such a threat prior to any entry by attacking and maintaining the unarmed assault momentum until the threat is ended, preventing him before he starts.
The unarmed assault would focus on attacking exposed and available targets that are vital to supporting life or affect the human senses or ability to stand or use the limbs.
The unarmed assault would be based on ravaging your enemy with multiple unarmed offensive actions on multiple targets if required.
One must remember that the aim of the unarmed assault is two fold, one to target vitals and two to prevent your enemy securing any close quarter clinch or hold.
This may require you to disarm or disable your enemy prior to disposing of the threat.
To prevent an unarmed enemy in a close quarter clinch prevention situation may require not only unarmed assault but also seizure prevention by attacking the grasping limb with hand edge or palm strikes (anti-CQ seizure).
Note: Post-turn side on manouvre, palm strike hold prevention prior to counter offensive
Remember you must always maintain a stable stance even under assault to be able to target exposed vitals before your enemy can successfully seize, secure and grapple with you.
If you can maintain a solid stance and employ a sound guard position you will be able to target exposed vitals that will take your enemies focus away from his immediate grapple intention.
For military grapple prevention, the use of CQ carried or improvised weapons is always a primary option in the clinch. For anti or escape CQ clinch situations.
Knives, guns, batons or improvised weapons such as rocks, nails, dirt, tent pegs, etc. will get far more guaranteed results than flesh on flesh.
Military hold escape.
Military means of hold prevention.
The targets to incapacitate (unarmed) include the eyes, the ears, the testicles, the knee joint and lower leg and foot and the carotid arteries.
The targets to eliminate include the nape of the neck and the thyroid cartilage.
Preventing the grab would include hand edge striking the forearm or palm striking the forearm or seizing the grabbing wrist or wrist and fingers then attacking or positioning and attacking your attacker.
Note: Post-side on manouvre, grabbing wrist seizure and leg stamp counter offensive.
The tackle or leg shoot is a common and effective grappling take down that needs to be prevented rather than countered preferably.
The means of countering such a take down is the evasion and the same principle would be employed against all unarmed entry attempts if an attack the attacker means was not employed.
The evasion is best executed diagonally forward away from the travel of the striking or grabbing limb or in the case of a tackle away from the travel of the attackers head.
Immediately after evasion a compound securing of the enemies head and drive it down groundward is the second step. You may need to true up your stance and should be at right angles to your enemy.
From here you can target vitals to incapacitate or eliminate.
In combat sports competitors have a greater chance of recovery because lethal blows are not permitted in combat they are the norm.
Should your desired enemy grappler entry combating options of attacking your attacker or evading and employing counter offence fail and you end up in the clinch then you will need to employ the following.
Note: Post-tackle evasion seize and secure and military lethal counter offensive.
Close quarter holds armed or unarmed offensive escape
Close quarter hold escapes and armed or unarmed counter offensive assault, close quarter self position to seize, secure and employ armed or unarmed offensive assault.
There are two common unarmed categories of close quarter hold threats:
a) Insecure: any hold, front, side or rear where you can change your body position by changing your footing position and putting yourself in a position that provides greater safety, turn your immediate exposed vitals away from your enemy making your body and limbs much wider and more difficult to contain and puts you in a position to employ unarmed skills to incapacitate or eliminate your enemy for combat.
This manoeuvre would usually see you go from a front on position to a side on side guard assessment position turning your vitals away and creating the previously described wide side on counter offensive position.
Common holds that you could escape using this tactic include hair grabs, neck throttles and all shoulder, arm and wrist grabs.
Common insecure hold, grab and threaten to punch
From the side on assessment position the three previous unarmed offensive assault options would be available.
1) Seize and secure your enemy and unarmed offensive assault
2) Break your enemies hold on you with a palm or hand edge strike to the holding forearm prior to unarmed offensive assault.
3) From your side on assessment position ravage your enemy with unarmed combination assault directed at exposed vitals to achieve your objective.
b) Secure: The second type of close quarter hold escape is against secure holds. These holds are the type that restricts your ability to turn side on to the assessment position previously described in the insecure hold escapes. Many of these holds have specific individual armed or unarmed escapes taught on your military close combat course.
The holds include strangles and chokes, the nelson holds, the headlock and body holds. The first priority in escaping any secure close quarter hold is ensuring you maintain your footing by doing what is described in the Todd Close Combat System as “the poo”.
Immediately crouching, resisting any enemy force, deepening your stance and assessing the immediate threat situation. Then you would employ your hold specific escape followed by a counter offensive action.
Note: Phase II and III of a front choke escape.
Note: Phase III of a Full Nelson unarmed escape
Note: Phase III of a rear strangle or choke escape
The following is a basic secure hold escape formula that can be employed to escape a wide range of unarmed secure close quarter holds.
Employ “the poo” principle, assess to establish your enemies objectives and what vital targets that are exposed and then ravage them.
The “poo” principle of maintaining a strong platform for offensive or counter offensive assault.
Ask yourself can you get to your enemies eyes, throat or neck, crotch or knee joint and lower leg and then ravage the available targets to escape the immediate hold and in the process incapacitate or eliminate your enemy for military combat.
Employing the previous principles with an armed escape would make the process even quicker and involve less effort to affect the escape.
The civilian terminology for insecure escapes is referred to as turn, trap, attack, turn break the grasp and attack or simply turn and attack.
Secure holds civilian self-defence terminology assess, decide and execute hold escape options.
Most orifices of the human body when attacked will create a release at least and often incapacitation and some will eliminate the enemy.
Gouging the eyes, fingers up the nostrils, chopping the side of the neck, seizing and wringing the scrotum, slapping the ears, stomping the knee joint will achieve definite reaction to your actions that will reduce the immediate will to grapple you or may incapacitate or eliminate your enemy.
Weapons employed to penetrate orifices or bludgeon delicate life support vitals will end a grapple in an instant.
Unarmed lethal attack on the nape of the neck or thyroid cartilage will also end a grapple encounter quick time and permanently in combat.
Any enemy stupid enough to turn their back on you, to attempt a shoulder or hip style throw exposes the nape of the neck to attack and is easily countered and taken out in combat.
The military lethal method to stop a turn-your-back throw immediately.
The previous is the proactive means to prevent or combat a close quarter clinch or grapple threat.
Trained military combatants will also be trained in the principles and skills to prevent or combat being moved, lifted, strangled, choked, pulled down, taken down, got behind, attacked armed or unarmed at close quarters, in the clinch and many other specific means of anti or counter close quarter assault.
This training also includes armed close quarter escapes against garrottes and close quarter ambush when held at knife, pistol or rifle point, or secure with a bludgeon.
Interested in Close Combat Training? Todd Group Depots are located throughout New Zealand and at various overseas locations.
For more information on Todd System of Close Combat see the following books, dvds and cds:
- Close Combat Books
The Do’s and Don’ts of Close Combat – Tactical C&R – Control and Restraint – No Nonsense Self Defence – Military Close Combat Systems Phase One – Combative Masters Of The 20th Century
- Close Combat DVDs
Self Defence of the Elite – 80 Years of Combative Excellence – Primary Option Control & Restraint – Military Unarmed Combat – Phase 1
- Close Combat CDs
Technique To Command – Combative Code of Conduct
