vigilant and responsive to any changes in your opponent.
Self-awareness is the most important element in a confrontational situation. How do you handle fear? Are you aware of your natural fight/flight/freeze response? What is your ability to work under fatigue/stress? What are your capabilities as a martial artist? Awareness of your own mindset is also important here – has your pride been challenged, what is your intent? How is your body reacting – what is your breathing pattern? What is your body language indicating?
Environmental awareness is not just being aware of the threat of your opponent. In combat, you need to evaluate the actual physical environment eg, who else is present – are they friends of your opponent- what is their intent? What is the physical layout of the environment eg is there glass, are there obstacles like tables or walls, are there escape options? Are there materials that can be used as potential weapons? All of these are important considerations especially in public areas where there are many unknown variables.
How do you handle the threat?
Your actions will be key to the outcome of conflict. Your body language will signal your intent –the confidence you display, the tone and authority of your voice, and the language that you use. Is your body language threatening? What emotions are you exhibiting? Are your decisions driven by logic or emotion (typically in an escalated matter your judgement can be clouded by emotion)?
Your intent is also important. Is negotiation an option? Can you de-escalate the issue by managing the situation through non-threatening language?
“The greatest victory is to defeat your opponent without fighting”
If the issue continues to escalate, the way that you hold your body is important to maximise your ability to defend yourself. Do you have your hands in a position to defend yourself? Do you have the ability to freely move? Are you vulnerable from an attack from behind?
World renowned karate historian & practitioner Hanshi Patrick McCarthy has categorised the most common forms of violent assault into Habitual Acts of Physical Violence (HAPV theory). Essentially there are 36 different fundamental forms of attacks in a one on one, empty handed fight state. Understanding and identifying these practices allows students to develop appropriate, pro-active responses to handle different situations.
In addition, Hanshi McCarthy regularly advocates his tool box theory.
“It’s better to have as many tools in the toolbox and never need to use them rather than just having a hammer as not every opponent is a nail”
Awareness of the human body can highlight both strengths and vulnerabilities, providing insight into how to best protect oneself in a physical confrontation. An example of typical fight scenario is an opponent will grab with their left hand, preparing to strike with their right hand. Knowing this in advance allows one to take pro-active action.
Training for reality
Successful training is getting better at reacting under the pressure of fear (you will never lose the state of being afraid). It’s also important to train under pressure and fatigue – while training will never match the intensity of a real life situation, it should be at a level that sufficiently prepares one to face the reality of physical confrontation. Knowing technique alone is not enough, it’s critical to undertake realistic training, practicing with intent which in turn builds mental toughness and tenacity.
Training should also obviously be focused on increasing your physical skillset – techniques, strength and speed as these skills are clearly beneficial in an unwanted situation.