Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Notes

In the middle of  a day with nothing planned (!!!) it seemed like a good time to go over some old stuff.  My students may not know that I take notes after class:

"JJ- (list of students) working on very minor stuff- triangle immobilizations; steady vs. staccato force; tendon lock; shearing from ground; mental vs. physical stops; controlling pace physical and verbal RTPV.  Caught a ridge hand to the eye. Had to do the whole psych FA thing on face contact. All good."

I like the balance- nuanced physical skills and critical physical distinctions; mind and body; tactics and techniques; finishing and prevention; emotion and socialization.

Triangle Immobilizations are a simple way to pull on a wrist, elbow, collar, hair or push/glide other contact points in such a way that the threat can't move either foot and sometimes can't twist his spine.
Steady vs. Staccato- a staccato attack, especially one in broken rhythm, upsets the OODA loop more than a steady rhythm; is harder to adjust to and can increase damage by utilizing it's own "bounce".
Tendon Locks are ways to position your own bones to make it very difficult for the threat to move you or a part of you.  Structure used for grappling defense.
Shearing from ground is just one way to break connection, a fast way.  Breaking connection with the ground cripples most people's fighting ability.
Mental and physical stops are largely about you. Your brain freezes and you body follows when you concentrate on the surface or the point of contact.  It decreases your ability to do damage or apply power in other ways.  The most common way of demonstrating is playing the childhood game of "Red Rover"  If the runner concentrates on the hands, he will usually be stopped.  If he concentrates on the horizon, he will either break through or drag the entire line, even if moving at a slower speed.
Controlling Pace... Physically, emotionally and even with your voice you can make someone else move faster or slower.  You will often see a good technician slow down in the middle of a match and his opponent will subconsciously slow down to match.  I've used this in real fights- along with the staccato explosion once the threat expected slow.
RTPV are the rate, tone, pitch and volume of voice.  Even without understanding a word of a mutual language you can set the tone for an interaction with good conscious skill at RTPV.  This is the kihon of verbal de-escalation.
Psych FA There must have been a rookie in the class.  Our society (all societies I know of) have serious tabus about adults touching other adults on the face.  That is why the slap is such a staple of domination- and why it is so often used by predators.  The socialization runs so deep that in MA classes, a rookie who accidentally makes face contact will stop, apologize and feel terrible. Once this tabu is brought into consciousness, you can train for it and even use it.

All good.

No comments: