The principle of work-in-progress

From a abortive knee kick
to a left hook

The principle of work-in-progress or non-completion.

Not completing an action may seem the antithesis of a good survival and self-defence strategy but it is a realistic option and does have its place in your capability to survive a vicious street attack. Being free from an obligation to finish a movement makes your counter-response unpredictable to your attacker. You are able to change according to what is happening and see threats as they are rather than forcing yourself to complete something that is inappropriate for the moment.

For example when your first intention is to kick someone on the knee, and instead you miss your intended target and kick the air you can continue in another direction and throw a left hook at his jaw or decide on something else that further your chance of escape and survival. Keep breathing and moving freely. Relax your face and eyes and at the same time pay attention to where both of you are going.

Developing good body alignment

Throwing and catching objects while on the move

Throw and catch things any which way as you walk eg common objects such as tennis balls, basketball, bottles, paper boxes, bags, sticks, etc. Throw the objects in font of you, to the sides, from back to the front, front to the back, one side to the next, from under the legs to the head, and so on. Pay the most attention to the breath and your posture and the least to catching the objects.

Although this is a solo exercise it can also be executed with a partner. With a partner just throw things, catch, and return throw to each other while both of you are on the move.

The main purpose of this drill is not to catch the objects but to keep good body structure, awareness and alignment while you are moving about. This drill is also about preserving your awareness while multi-tasking eg, while evading a group attack you have to look for openings in your attackers from which you can launch counter strikes or any other options that you decide to do.

Natural movements in the preservation of self and the human spirit

...striking helps us clean ourselves of self-pity and fear...

For the sake of self survival from harm and the preservation of the human spirit striking helps us control the structure and focus of attackers in combat...striking helps us clean ourselves of self-pity and fear...as striking can be executed with almost all the body parts it is important to think of striking as movements, not as techniques or katas because when we attach a name or label to something with a specific description we stop to grow and evolve our combat survival and response capabilities...

Surviving a mob attack

A mob attack in a pub

Imagine you are cornered and surrounded by a group of menacing thugs who is about to lynch you. In this scary situation many a victim, paralyzed by sheer terror, would either lash out violently at the attackers or freeze on the spot thereby triggering the signal for the mob to attack him. Usually before the lynching there would be the initial process of harassment characterised by pushing, shoving and shouting of obscenities to frighten the victim into total submission and surrender. If the victim can keep the lid on his panic and keep his calm and cool before the harassment escalates to a full scale bloody lynching there is still the chance of making an escape. Traditional martial arts training in the comfort zone of the dojo may not equip the practitioner with the necessary skills and experience to handle a mob attack in the street. In the event of a mob attack the priority of the victim is not to fight back but to exit from the scene as soon as possible.

A mass attack drill
One person in the centre is surrounded by a group of people in a circle. The attackers in the circle start to push and shove the defender all around using hands, fists and legs. As the defender is being pushed around he lets the movement pass through him without attaching to it and also maintain the upright body alignment as much as he can in order to move freely and remains unharmed.

Turkish parlimentarians

brawling

By letting go of the ego and tension the defender decides the direction to move freely in such a manner that the pushes and strikes of his attackers cancel out each other and in the process allows himself himself to stay out. As the defender is being pushed around he keeps track of his surrounding using breathing as a tool for maintaining conscious relaxation and awareness under stress.

While being pushed around and without telegraphing his true intention to the angry mob the primary objective of the defender then is to spot openings in the ring of attackers to break out from the circle, escape and ultimately ensure his survival.