Everyone has a plan in Martial Arts.
“We would do this and then that”.
“Our systems would use a technique like this….”
“If they grabbed me here I would do this”.
Plans, plans, plans.
As humans we have to create plans, it is in our nature.
We have career plans, building plans, business plans, birth plans and even life plans these days.
And yes almost everyone in Martial Arts has a plan.
We break down what we would do in certain situations as if it were a movie fight scene, in fact, a lot of training (including reality-based self-defence) exists in this ‘story framework’ where we always turn out the winners.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but what if the story our training is telling us is not the right one?
What if ‘the plan’ we have created is going to fail?
Well, it turns out that in 2018 there is one question you need to ask yourself and your Martial Arts system.
There is one question that separates your Martial Art from being effective (and also being worthless).
And this article will explain what the one question is and why it is so important.
Ready?
Let’s do this:
The Question
You made it this far, so you deserve the question that your martial art needs to answer.
Here it is:
“Does this work against more than one person?”
Simple isn’t it, but behind the simplicity is more depth than an abyssal trench.
You see the question can apply to any technique within a Martial Art or the system itself.
Let’s take a look.
Juji Gatame: The Juji is a Judo and BJJ arm lock also known as an armbar in some circles.
It is a technique that can break a person’s arm.
But does it work against more than one person?
The answer is no.
If there is a second attacker the technique fails because their friends can stamp your head in as you have no protection.
Let us try it with something more glamorous like a simple ‘head kick’.
Does it work with more than one attacker?
It could but as your leg is up high you are super vulnerable to being attacked and pushed over.
So your success might be high with attacker number 1, but the chances of you making it to deal with attacker number 2 are slim.
But what about a double leg takedown?
Again, you win the first fight taking the attacker down but lose the battle to the friends standing above you.
A lot of techniques fail when you add just one other person to the equation.
But you also have to remember that a lot of situations have 3, 4 or more attackers and as such your skill goes down even further.
Training For One Or Many Attackers
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule?
Basically, it means that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of the effort and it can be applied to many things in life.
Your best results come from 20% of your output.
You spend the vast majority of your money of the same few things.
And so on…
Well, it applies to Martial Arts training also.
If 80% of your training deals only with one on one situations you arguably have only a 20% chance of surviving a group attack.
This may sound harsh but 80% of your time is spent learning to deal with a situation that is highly likely not to happen.
And as we have discussed, even if it does start off as a one person fight it is likely that others will join in.
No one is saying that ‘one on one’ attacks do not happen, they do.
No one is saying ‘every attack is a group attack’.
What we are saying is that the odds of it being a group attack are just as likely of it being a single attacker, yet most self-defence systems do not spend any time on group attacks.
Is this right?
Statistically, it is playing with fire.
So what is the answer?
Why Defence Lab Provides The Answer You Need
I first started to ask myself ‘ the question’ a few years ago when I was heavily involved in Judo.
With a background in boxing as well, I was concerned about my skills being reduced when facing a large group.
After all, if I ended up on the floor with 5 lads standing above me kicking my head in, I can’t very well try and ‘pull guard’.
My studies lead me to Andy Norman and Defence Lab.
Defence Lab was able to give me options and teach me what to do when faced with a group attack, while also giving me a range of tools and techniques for one on one situations that I never knew existed.
At the time I learned Defence Lab from a range of seminars because I was still training in Judo.
But now you can access DL online while still training in your current Martial Art.
You can learn the skills while staying put with your chosen system.
This is truly incredible because you have the flexibility to choose your own learning goals.
If you love BJJ and the ground game, great. You can now add some street style groundwork and group attack skills (and a lot more).
If you do Thai Boxing you can add the 360 degrees, shape-shifting techniques of Defence Lab to your rock solid stand up game.
Defence Lab is not a ‘do this and this alone’ style of training.
It works with your current system and not against it.
For this reason, Defence Lab is being taught across the globe to law enforcement officers including the British Police.
So what are you waiting for?
Head over to our online University and check out our training, trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
https://www.defencelabcourses.com/p/virtual-hq