Contact inoculation with the CQC Tru-Gard

Contact inoculation is a critical requirement of preparing a combatant for the realities of close quarters actions on, just as it is for combat sports fighters inoculation against the adverse effects of competitive and sparring contact.

This file is predominantly on our mil self-defence and mil CQC contact inoculation but contact is contact and the effects can be the same/similar.

It is the means and methods of threat neutralisation under assault contact that are different and the intentions and desired objectives.

The inoculation training must be specific to the combatants/fighters role or code respectively as in having commonality and being cohesive with their skills sets reasoning and objectives.

Individuals that have not experienced the effects of head, abdominal, extremities and human anatomy sensitive/soft bodily senses and life support systems contact including in the form of momentum/velocity/ leverage/pressure types of contact may well not be able to overcome the initial shock effects of such in a real life actions on.

Inoculation must include not only self-protective means of reducing/negating such effects but also cohesive combat and counter engagement actions to neutralise the threat.

Military CQC training needs to include close quarters combat contact inoculation to ensure combatants can prevent contact, minimise the effects of contact and at real time without hesitation employ effective combat or counter actions threat neutralisation.

The common effects of blunt force trauma to the head can be described as resembling thunder or lightning as in a dull black thud or sharp shock sparks.

There are variables that relate to the effects of such blunt force trauma to the head that include uncompromised covert take outs or being sucker punched where you were not aware or ready and as such could not employ your prior training skills to negate the effects of such blunt force trauma.

Those that have been inoculated against contact effects through mil CQC, battle inoculation or fighters that had been inoculated through controlled contact training including sparring should understand what I mean by the description of thunder or lightening.

The important aspects are the combatant’s awareness through prior training and inoculation to be able to prevent contact or reduce contact impact through hard cover guarding deflection or completely or partially clearing the contact zone.

Through controlled contact inoculation the combatant can become familiar and minimally affected by the effects of hard contact as long as they are mentally tough and goal/objective achievement driven.

Many traditionalists training in styles that do not include head contact inoculation have found out under assault or in sparring or combat sports competition where head contact is the reality, that they were not ready and prepared to deal with the effects of head contact.

Abdominal contact inoculation training similarly includes methods of preventing or reducing the level of impact contact that effectively inoculates the combatant through familiarisation with the realities of abdominal contact and how to reduce/overcome such effects without stalling in the employment of counter engagement.

Unarmed counter actions inoculation methods must be controlled and employed in low dose contact impact intensity initially and gradually increased in speed/momentum intensity with controlled aggression commensurate with the combatant’s competency and proficiency and confidence in preventing, reducing or withstanding the effects of the contact impact.

Variables such as unexpected contact including covert or incoming strikes or kicks directional lines outside of the targets visual capabilities as in sucker punching or incoming offensive actions directional lines outside beneath or above direct frontal or peripheral vision, can increase the effects of close quarters contact by considerable. Hard targeting trade-craft self-preservation/self-protection practices will reduce the odds of such contact in expected/identified actions on.

Close quarter contact blunt force trauma inoculation includes also real time self-protective counter engagement actions. These actions through timing hardcover guarding and contact zone clearing take advantage of the increased effects achievable by timed deliberate target counter engagement. Such tactics and skills making the enemy miss combined with contacting with them when they are fully committed increase the effects of such combat or counter actions by taking advantage of colliding forces impact.

Endorphins can dramatically reduce the effects of real time contact impact pain in an actions on and with the combatant being inoculated against the effects of such blunt force impact trauma and being familiar with and having the knowhow to negate or reduce the realities of black thunder or white lightning effects and not allowing them to interfere with their immediate real time counter actions best prepares them to endure and overcome such contact realities and effectively combat or counter their enemy. Inoculation training must include tactics of instant immediate self-protection/ recovery under assault contact to enable the individual to continue with their objectives as you will have seen in the ring in many fights where an all but stopped fighter recovers to stop their opponent.

High level mental toughness is a must and the most important attribute of overcoming actions on contact.

Highly skilled mil CQC instructors through the nature of the tradecraft will easily identify those that are prepared ready and willing to endure/overcome close quarters contact and those that are not. They will also have effective means of battle inoculation against the effects of unarmed blunt force trauma contact that will enhance those that have the mental toughness and intestinal fortitude levels required to real time recover and overcome such effects of contact and effectively threat neutralise formidable foes.

Often the thunder or lightning effects are decided by how willing, aware, able and ready the individual combatant is.

Bright light sparks or lightning is often the result of unexpected or deceptive contact that snaps the head back or to the side and if a knock out is the outcome as the saying goes you will be knocked spark out. Black thunder thud smack type effects of close quarters contact impact are more often a result of expected or immediately prior to contact identified threats. Willing Able Ready combatants that identify and negate or reduce actions on contact as part of their combat/counter actions threat neutralisation stand the best chances of threat neutralisation.

The threat reduction actions-on strategies that reduce contact effects by hard cover-guard or kill/contact zone clearing actions that absorb, reduce, redirect or negate the contact effects will combine cohesively with threat neutralisation combat or counter actions.

The realities of close quarters unarmed combat are that a combatant must be able to overcome the effects of close quarters contact up against a formidable foe to effectively threat neutralise.

Even if compromised under hard contact the mentally tough uncompromising combatant that has been inoculated and is familiar with close quarters contact has higher chances of achieving threat neutralisation.

The same applies to combat sports fighters that in order to defeat opponents they must be able to handle the contact that comes with their code of combat sport and get on with winning.

This may mean dealing with a single blow or weathering the storm of a barrage of unarmed contact that is a must to effectively achieve the objective of threat neutralisation.

If an individual cannot effectively prevent or reduce effects of contact or overcome primitive autonomic self-protection reactions to unarmed close contact and effectively employ deliberate combat/counter engagement responses of threat neutralisation, their chances of defeating a formidable enemy may not be possible or at best will be very low.

Effective contact impact inoculation training must be relevant to the role, or in combat sports the code.

It must be specific to threat characteristics and objective achievement outcomes requirements as well as being all encompassing in providing a complete principle based strategy to deal with all aspects of an actions on.

The individual inoculation means and methods must be based on actions on realities and specifics and have commonality with both human autonomic reactions and trained human deliberate responses from the combatants/competitors trained systems tactics and skills of threat neutralisation/winning objective achievement.

The highly trained combatant or fighter has to have learnt how to overcome human autonomic reactions of self-preservation and replace them with proven superior means and methods of threat neutralisation.

This requires mental toughness training, contact inoculation training and battle proven combat and counter threat neutralisation tactics and skills training.

It must be based on having commonality with human autonomic reactions and not opposing such reactions. The highly trained inoculated combatant must override primitive self-preservation human reactions and employ effective tactics that enable the employment of enemy combat or counter engagement threat neutralisation.

These are trained advanced combatant capabilities of threat neutralisation over primitive autonomic human reactionary self-preservation survival under assault.

Reducing target mass hard cover guarding using evasive actions including stationary evasive actions immediately combined with combat/counter engagement actions are all important components of best tradecraft practices to effectively overcome formidable assaulters.

The inoculation package must include all targets inoculation as well as front, side and rear flanks directed contacted.

Having a proven simple principle for contact prevention impact reduction for the three human anatomy levels is standard CQC tradecraft practice that reduces risks of getting it wrong under assault.

The brain to boot mental toughness packages for expected and unexpected threat realities provide both combat and counter actions under threat/assault that are cohesive and have commonality with not only our European mil close combat tactics/skills but also our best/safest mil CQC/MSD means and methods of common/probable close quarters combat actions on threats neutralisation and this is most important. Combine this with the correct tools for the trade, objective achievement requirements and a combatant’s uncompromising mind-set and being inoculated against contact impact and they are armed with best chances of threat neutralisation capabilities. Close quarters combat training must also include familiarisation with enemy techniques in training and in contact inoculation and threat neutralisation by means of your primary tradecraft mil close quarters combat skill sets.

Everything in mil CQC/MSD training must be able a primary positive means to an end and that end is stopping the enemy in their tracks.

Inoculation against your own systems and skill sets in training and testing is important but equally/more important is your capability to effectively neutralise enemy styles techniques and be inoculated against the effects of such techniques, after all it is more likely you will face enemy styles techniques over your system skills in an actions on.

Often the reason sports persons fall victim to the effects of fouls is simply because they are not familiar with combating, countering, reducing or absorbing the effects of such techniques and have a belief such practices are dirty, deadly and not permitted and the intensions of the opponent/player is to cause them serious harm.

Such thoughts weaken their resolve and as such reduce their capabilities.

They may well believe they are in danger, injured or incapacitated by the contact when in fact they are fully capable of getting on with objective achievement simply because they have not been trained and inoculated on the fact that they can do so and have the capabilities to do so.

The human autonomic reaction systems produce self-preservation reactions not a trained high level high CQC intelligent threat neutralisation modus operandi necessary to stop formidable foes. Those under violent threat/assault that are not trained on how to neutralise such threats and inoculated against the contact realities are not best armed on how to win over merely surviving. The assault realities may well be outside their untrained human control capabilities required to overcome the effects of fear. If they are not familiar with dealing with violence and the effects of such violent threats or believe such foul/dirty tricks are life or limb threatening and dwell for a millisecond on possible contact effects or outcomes, they may well freeze or be overwhelmed to the point of helplessness or hopelessness. It very much comes down to having the required mental and physical make up combined with the best of primary proven tactics and skills toolsets to achieve the objective of formidable foes threat neutralisation.

The required mentality and physical attributes including contact inoculation combined with best of battle proven mil CQC tradecraft tactics and skills must be honed and enhanced in training testing and under contact inoculation to remove as much of the unfamiliar and unexpected as humanly possible.

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