By Dr. Leonard C. Holifield, 10th Dan, DMS
Question: What would you do if someone suddenly threw a poisonous snake at you or any snake for that matter? Instinctively, most sane people would jump back in fear of being bitten, right? This is because most people have a deep-seated fear of being bitten and killed by a poisonous snake. Now take that same snake and break off his fangs. Would you now jump at having this fangless snake thrown at you now? Maybe you would, because of the fear that is instilled in you regarding snakes; but the fear of being “Bitten and Poisoned” will be greatly reduced. This is because the snakes bite is now useless. We know that a snake’s bite can be lethal / painful, and the fear of dying from a snake bite automatically puts us in fear, on the defensive, raises blood pressure and adrenaline levels. However, a poisonous snake that cannot deliver his venom is in fact useless and ineffective to say the least. This is because a snake’s primary weapon is his fangs.
Humans are the same. Look at man, as a snake; however, man has 5 Fangs or Primary Fighting Weapons: His two arms, two legs and his head. Each arm capable of delivering Strikes, Grabbing, Elbowing and Choking; the legs can deliver powerful Kicks, Knee Strikes, Stomps, and Sweeps, and the head capable of delivering incapacitating Head Butts and Bites.
As with the snake, man can be defanged as well. We can accomplish this by “Limb Destruction” breaking the wrist and/or fingers of the hand or the arm at the elbow or dislocating the shoulder. If your opponent has a broken wrist or fingers, he simply cannot make a fist, and he certainly can’t strike you, for the pain would be too great, cause further damage and render his strike totally ineffective. The legs can be neutralized by dislocating the patella (knee cap), breaking the leg at the knee joint or hyper-extending the knee causing extensive ligament and tendon damage, breaking the ankle or small bones of the instep and foot or cutting the tendons of the leg ie: behind the knee or the achilles tendon, which would make any attack with the legs virtually impossible. The head itself contains the control center of the body, the brain, which is protected by the cranium or skull.
The target point is not the skull itself, but more specifically the side of the head or temple area, the weakest point of the skull, as well as a direct strike between the eyes. The jaw which operates on a hinge type joint can easily be broken, making a bite from your opponent impossible and very capable of causing a knockout at the same time. Each weapon or fang that you take away from your opponent decreases his ability to fight effectively, thus increasing your chances of survival. Defanging or Limb Destruction is an art in and of itself. It is quick and effective, no matter the size or skill level of your opponent; once the limbs are destroyed they become ineffective, through bone fracture, torn ligaments, bruised or torn muscle and nerve damage. How many pro football players have you seen go down on the field from a knee injury? Or a professional boxer gets knocked out from a well-placed strike to the jaw or side of the head? These are professional athletes that are used to this type of punishment, yet they still go down. The goal of attacking the limbs or other vital points of the body is to render your attackers strikes useless. When he strikes, trap his attacking (fang) / arm and break it by way of the elbow, fingers or shoulder dislocation. the key here, is to methodically break him down, incapacitate, Immobilize or kill if necessary.
There are three ways to accomplish this:
- Make the attacker lose his concentration. If he stops thinking about striking you, he will stop trying to strike you.
- Interfere with Neuro-muscular control over his body. If he has a bruised nerve or muscle in his forearm, he cannot effectively make a fist, thus he cannot strike you.
- Destroy the integrity of his body. If his arm, wrist, fingers, hand or clavicle (collar bone) is broken, (because of the extreme pain associated with the injury) he won’t try to hit you whether he can form a fist or not.
The clavicle or collar bone is also a very effective target. If one clavicle is broken, both arms cannot function properly. The pain of a broken clavicle is so intense that trying to use the other arm is virtually impossible without increasing the pain ten-fold! I know this personal from experience, having broken my right clavicle playing football back in high school. Both arms become totally ineffective. A well-placed hammer strike to the clavicle can fracture it, destroying the integrity of your opponent’s body. The body is only as strong as its weakest link. Joints are generally weak. Held together by muscle, tendon and ligaments. The knee joint for example considered one of the strongest joints in the body, yet one of the weakest. This is because the knee joints support most all of the body’s weight and therefore must be strong enough to support this weight, however the knee can be easily broken or dislocated by striking the knee from the inside, outside or the front, causing immediate incapacitation. Before the confrontation begins, you should quickly assess your opponent, sizing him up for the tactics that you will employ. Notice the way he stands, his arm position, leg position, his size, his build, his confidence level, his focus (is he totally focused on you or is his mind and focus wandering), all of which can be assessed within a matter of seconds.
The Proper Mindset
To be an effective fighter, you MUST possess a mindset that will allow you to break through intimidation, fear of injury, fear of being defeated and the psychological effect of actually breaking the bone of an arm or leg, crushing a trachea or putting your finger through an eye socket. Therefore, you must first rid yourself of any deep-seated sympathy or pity you may have for your opponent, your humanitarian side; and no longer look at your opponent as being human, but instead – a Target. A target that must be destroyed. Mike Tyson displayed this same mindset in his fights. As Tyson approached the ring fear flooded his mind, fear of his opponent, fear of losing, fear of disappointing his friends and fans; this was Tyson’s way of giving respect to his opponent, however, as he got closer to the ring, his confidence surged, as he entered the ring, now sees his opponent as a “Target” invading his space, his ring, his world. He never loses eye contact with is opponent, his confidence superior to his opponents – the result – knockout! Most of Tyson’s fights were won before he ever stepped into the ring. Psychologically speaking, his opponents were scared to death due to Mike’s reputation, fight record, power and demeanor in the ring. In a real fight situation, you can’t stop to think of techniques, you need to have an instant response; you must be able to turn off your thinking mind and switch on your animal mind or what is also called the “reptilian mindset”.
When animals fight, they “Fight”! They fight until either the other is killed or backs off (period). There are no preplanned techniques or attacks. You must rid yourself of “fear”, hesitation and technique. No matter what type of opponent you may face off with, you should never play on the same playing field as your opponent. For example: if your opponent is a Grappler and you are not, (unless you are a Grappler, with skills on par with your opponent) “Don’t Go to The Ground and Grapple with Him”!!! Fight on your own terms, using your own techniques. If he does take you to the ground, you have several option’s before he pins you and chokes you out (1) Crush his testicles, (2) Gouge his eyes out, (3) Bite him in the Throat/Neck, or (4) Grab and break his fingers (a Grappler with broken hands, wrist and fingers) is quite frankly, useless. Remember the first several matches of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)? Who won? The Gracie’s. Why? Because they knew going in, that once they got their opponent on the ground, the fight was over! Because at that time, none of the “stand-up fighters” knew how to fight from the ground! They had no ground fighting skills! They were fighting the Gracie’s fight, and they knew it! The Gracie’s had a field day with the stand-up karate guys! In response, the fighters had to adapt and change their way of fighting. As they did this, the game started to change. Today, everyone who fights in the UFC or MMA has a strong ground game! In short, you must adapt and always be in control of your situation.
Assessing Your Target (Target Selection)
Before the fight begins your mind is a high-speed computer, quickly assessing vital targets, weak points and exit routes, if it becomes necessary for you to escape. If facing large, muscular opponents, soft (unprotected) targets such as the eyes, throat, groin, ears (double palm strike), solar plexus, shin and knee joint will yield the most effective results for immediate incapacitation, as opposed to having your strikes absorbed by thick muscle tissue and body mass. While facing your opponent, never focus in on any specific part of his body, this includes his eyes. The key here is to look at your opponent and see everything. You must see the whole forest and not just the tree. When you focus on one single point, you miss all others. For example, while focusing on his eyes, he kicks you in the shin. You must see all of his weapons from head to toe and be ready to answer any weapon(s) thrown at you.
The Fight
Once the attack begins, you should already be two steps ahead of the attacker (look at this as being Chess not Checkers). Should you have to launch a pre-emptive strike (by striking first), multiple follow-up strikes should be employed to ensure quick incapacitation, while keeping your opponent off balance (mentally and physically), and on the defensive.
Each strike should yield a high return. By this, I mean each strike should do maximum damage to the target point, punching “through” your target and not merely “to it”. For example, in the dojo, many martial artist practice one-step self-defense techniques, while doing so, they tend to “control” their strikes and kicks as not to “hurt” their partner. The problem with this type of training is that in a REAL FIGHT you will tend to apply the same amount of (minimal) force that you have trained yourself to apply. This will not work in a real street fight. This is why professional full-contact tournament fighters, MMA and professional boxers fare better in street fights, simply because of the way they train. Train as you will fight! If you want to be ready and prepared for a street fight, then you should train for the street fight! Your training should include full force strikes and kicks, to include receiving the same on your end. Many traditional martial artists may in fact be good fighters, but when it comes to taking a punch, they are the quickest to get knocked out. You must include in your training, the ability to take a punch, kick, elbow strike, knee, etc.….A person doesn’t jump in a pool and expect not to get wet, nor does a boxer step in the ring and expect not to get hit, if by chance he doesn’t get hit (it’s a good day), but 9 times out of 10, he’s going to get hit, he’s suppose to get hit. The key here, is being able to take the punch, kick, elbow, knee etc… so that you can continue and survive! Remember: Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect – Perfect Practice Makes Perfect. You can practice a technique 1000 times wrong, and the result will be that you’ve mastered how to perform the technique wrong! In closing, TRAIN TO FIGHT – FIGHT TO WIN!
Dr. Holifield has over 50+ years martial arts experience. He is the President and Founder
of IAEPA International Academy of Executive Protection Agents, Phalanx Training Academy and the Sikaron Karate Federation. He holds black belts in Judo (3rd Dan), Hapkido (6th Dan) and Sikaron Karate (10th Dan, Judan). He is the former Chief Combatives Instructor to the United States Army (1987-97) and has appeared in numerous Army publications to include: Soldiers, Army Trainer, KORUS, Stars & Stripes and Military Police Magazines. He is a published author and featured in “Combative Masters of the 21st Century” by Lulu Press. For more information on Close-Quarter Combat and/or Executive Protection contact Dr. Holifield at (770) 799-6471, Email: [email protected] or visit www.phalanx-eps.us
