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The old joke does appear to be something of a truism after all, that went something to the effect that it is good that they are so very willing to die for their cause because they never did quite get the hang of how to fight for it.*shrug*.
Thank you all for taking the time to read and to reply. I am very grateful
MJS has mirrored my own ideas and suggested positioning, stacking the attackers - I love that line and using multiple opponent interference). And but I think if we do not FIRST consider where their need is mandated, ie. which situations we are likely to face and which modes of attack we are likely to face therein, then how can we be certain that we have adapted those tools correctly for the task that we eventually need them? Goodness, does that make sense? It has rolled around in my head and found the hole to drop in
This sums up my opinion on the subject. No matter how many scenarios you can concoct, there will always be one that you have not thought of. The idea is not to have a table where you can go to scenario 642 and apply solutions x,r, and t, but to apply your principles and techniques to each scenario as appropriate. Apply descalation when appropriate. Block and parry when necessary and strike when necessary.....what we learn in the arts should be principles. Multi-purpose 'tools' that we can apply as and when the situation demands it.
Not much to rebut there my experienced friend :tup:.
My iaido sensei is very strong on teaching that what we learn in the arts should be principles. Multi-purpose 'tools' that we can apply as and when the situation demands it. I must have been lucky as my long ago Lau sifu taught me exactly the same way i.e. you are training your minds eye to recognise 'windows of opportunity' where the techniques you have learned can be applied.
I have only the one 'real' use of these principles to draw on so I hesitate to make a 'truism' out of the concept ... but it worked for me and frighteningly well.
I had thought the answer to this was a plain no, simply because there are infinite possibilities. And but are there really?
Revisiting the idea, I do not believe that for any one of us, there are in fact *that* many unique and separate dangerous locations, combinations of attack, and permutations of those things that we would potentially encounter.
Why am I asking? Well, I do not like impossible tasks that I have no hope of ever getting to the end of (defending myself against infinite possibilities). And but yet, I do not like to feel overwhelmed by my defensive shortcomings. Dividing and conquering those infinite possibilities makes our comprehensive defense more of a reality I think, no?
We can split scenarios into likely and unlikely depending upon our daily activities and where we are likely to find ourselves. For example, I do not imbibe so the "pub fight" / glass-type attack can be ruled out, and but I live in an area with high racial tensions where physical harassment is not unheard of, so I focus specifically on push-shove avoid and de-escalate maybe, etc.
Further to that, we can split complex attack situations into combinations of simply-handled ones. For example, I do not train multiple SIMULTANEOUS attack, having noticed how difficult it is for two regular, front-attacking opponents to use a strike on me at *exactly* the same moment. At striking distance, their strikes and body positioning interfere with each other's. I do not think that is ill-advised because in this case, both reactionary speed (dealing with each separate attack expediently) and good positioning (locking and leveraging opponent as shield) mitigate the danger and turn it from multiple simultaneous attack into rapid repeated attack - as might well happen with a fast, single opponent. In other words, it is I think possible to train a complex defensive situation as just an extension of one or more simple ones.
Do you think this goal is unnecessary or just chasing semantics? Do you ever try to rise to the idea of equipping yourself to defend every potential scenario? Is it a goal with merit or just stupid? I wonder would anyone have input, those of you who are senior belts in your art and/or train seniors freely, using more rigorous and thorough methodologies?
Hope this is not too stream-of-consciousness confusing
Thank you
Yr most obdt hmble srvt,
Jenna
defensive principles; absolutely, every single possible scenario individually? no way in hell. Anyone saying yes, imho, is full of it and themselves.
I'm not quite sure why you quoted me there, rock ... other than my using the word "principles" .
Would you care to elaborate? For what I meant was the same as yourself i.e. you do not attempt to enumerate every possible permutation of movement and technique but prime yourself to be able to make use of the tools you have in the situation that arises.
defensive principles; absolutely, every single possible scenario individually? no way in hell. Anyone saying yes, imho, is full of it and themselves.
The difference bewteen 'technique' and 'scenario' is an important one to distinguish and understand, GB :tup:.
What I have been taught (and what I think everyone is trying to say in various ways) is that you do not learn to respond to a myriad different scenarios. As I said a while ago now, you train your mind to 'read' the scenario and find the windows of opportunity where the techniques you have can work to resolve the situation.
That is one of the important reasons for 'grinding' your techniques into muscle memory - when the moment comes to use the one you want, it is there, ready and waiting, just for that 'window' where it can be effective.