The Art of Assumption

Training methods, tactics and techniques are constantly evolving preparing you for the many potential threats you may encounter. The focus of training should be geared towards resolving the worst case scenario, not the best case scenario as is often practiced. Training for best case scenarios provides a false sense of security because the defender is generally given a situation that is easy to resolve. Best case scenarios typically have an outcome where you always win. This is not realistic as once you are in the real world Mr. Murphy will be along altering the best case scenario into worst case scenario which has not been dealt with in your training program. This leads to a best case scenario trained person who is confident but improperly prepared to deal with worst case scenario. This individual is thrust into reality of a rapidly developing dangerous encounter and now hesitates, over responds, or under responds. Such “real world” experience will quickly teach the defender many lessons provided that the person survives the encounter. Sometimes you discover what you should do and other times what you should not do. From the stress and immediacy of real life confrontation comes two truths about combat:

1. The assailant will be closer than you anticipate and probably closer than you have trained for

2. The “fight” always happens faster than you expect

When training for the worst case scenario you must ask yourself the following question:

“Will the technique or skill I am learning work in a real world situation against a dedicated threat who wants to hurt me?”

Of course there are no guarantees but if the answer is “no” then the technique or skill must be immediately discarded. It is time to move on to a more practical and effective skill that is geared toward a successful resolution of the problem. This sounds like a simple concept, yet it is common to see officer’s practicing a technique or skill that would never work in the real world. The technique is often too complicated, too technical or based on faulty assumptions. Faulty assumptions are where we make guesses on how an assailant is going to respond to a technique which may or may not be correct. If we are incorrect we may die. We should not train on how someone “may” respond, we should train to handle the threat that we are presented with until the threat is no longer a danger.

It is also important to be cognizant of our reactions. For example, try performing a technique that requires fine motor skills during a high stress situation. Fine motor skills are probably not going to work well, if at all, in a high stress situation. A bad technique is a bad technique no matter how many times you practice it or how much you think you have mastered the technique. A technique built upon a bad premise (i.e. faulty assumption) is, and always will be, a bad technique. For example, how often do we “assume” the bad guy will attack us in a certain way? We then counter the move and they will respond to our move in a certain way. Right! So, how can you determine if a technique will work? Do the technique, with proper safety equipment, at full speed with full force. Yes, there is potential for injury, which is why safety precaution must be taken. The use of headgear and other safety equipment should be considered. It is always better to learn what will or will not work in a training environment rather than on the street when it really counts. You can be taught all there is to know about swimming in a classroom, but until you are in the water you will never know what it means to swim.

Training should be based upon principles and not necessarily specific techniques. Principles provide us with an overall philosophy on resolving situations. Techniques provide us with specific responses to a threat and should be adaptable to the overall concept. The use of specific techniques may not be practical in a close quarter rapidly developing confrontation. Take an edged weapon scenario as an example. In order to utilize a technique for an edged weapon attack we would first have to be able to recognize the type of attack (i.e. thrust, slash, angle of attack) and then choose which “technique” to apply. Is this realistic under a very dynamic high stress potentially lethal encounter? Using concepts we may accept that we will get cut or stabbed, attempt to minimize damage to vital targets and attack the attacker as soon as possible to either provide an opportunity for escape or neutralize the threat. It is not based upon the premise that the attacker does “A” and the response is “B”. Techniques should augment the overall concept and philosophy of the situation.

Assumptions

How many times have you trained with an instructor or training partner who says “Throw a punch at me” or “stab me with this training knife.” And when you do it the person says, “Stop, I mean punch me like this or stab me this way.” In the real world there is no stop, pause, rewind or replay. There is only reaction. You either react, in a fast and decisive manner, or you lose. What you lose could be your life. You must be able to adapt to the situation.

Another training reality is: The way you train is the way you will react. Even when your training partner is not performing the role of assailant in the way you expect, you do not have the option to stop and not react – even when training. If you do this during training, you are training yourself to stop or freeze anytime an assailant is not attacking you in the way you expect. In the real world, you must adapt to whatever your assailant throws at you or how they throw it. When you make assumptions on how an assailant may attack you, then you may not be prepared to react if their attack differs from your assumption.

Rules

We, as law-abiding citizens, must respect the constraints of civilization. The military follows rules of engagement. Law enforcement officers follow the use of force continuum. Citizens follow the laws of their locality. Your assailant does not limit himself to established rules. Oftentimes, this gives your opponent a tactical advantage because they take the “rules” constraint out of their equation. Yet, you must stay within the confines of the rules. Again, do not train under the faulty assumption of stopping and starting over during training when your partner does not attack you the way he was supposed to attack. Do not assume your attacker will follow the rules or that he even has rules.

How to Train

When initially learning a technique you must practice slowly and pay attention to performing the movement with correct technique. As you perfect the technique you will do it faster and faster until you are able to do it technically correct at full speed. When you have the skill of the technique, it is then time to start doing the technique with a partner in a realistic training environment. Never stop in the middle of technique especially if you make a mistake or if your training partner makes a mistake. If a mistake is made, you must:

• Continue doing something to defend and protect yourself,
• Accept the fact that a mistake was made,
• Correct the mistake the next time you do the technique
• Forget about the mistake.

Do not overly focus on mistakes. We all make mistakes and must train through them. Stopping in the middle of a technique because a mistake was made is essentially training yourself to stop anytime you make a mistake whether in training or in a real confrontation. To stop during a real encounter is unacceptable. The benefit of mistakes is that they add to our knowledge base which we can then add to our toolbox. Mistakes can be a good turned into a good experience as long as you learn from them. 

Stress Inoculation

When involved in a combat encounter, you will quickly realize that you are in an ever-changing rapidly dynamic environment. Keep in mind that the way you train is the way you will react causing you to default to the type of training you have been doing. You will not “rise to the occasion” if you have never prepared to do so. The way you handle stress in such an encounter may determine if you have a successful resolution of the situation. The human body will respond with psychological and physiological reactions to stress. 

Psychological Reactions to Stress

There are three psychological reactions to stress: fight, flight or freeze.

• Fight: Engaging the threat using whatever force is reasonable and necessary to neutralize the threat.
• Flight: Leave the threat. Avoiding the encounter by leaving is acceptable provided that you are not required to handle the situation because of your profession (e.g. military or law enforcement).  If you are required to handle the threat you may need to secure the scene and wait for back up or tactical support.
• Freeze: Doing nothing, blind panic. The situation may be so overwhelming that you are incapable of any productive action geared towards neutralizing the threat. Freezing is never an acceptable option.

 Physiological Reactions to Stress

Your body may respond to extreme stress in a multitude of ways such as: auditory exclusion, tunnel vision, slow motion time, memory loss, dissociation, intrusive distracting thoughts, memory distortions, intensified sounds, fast motion time or temporary paralysis. During a fight for your life you must completely focus on neutralizing the threat or threats facing you. By training in a realistic manner under stress your brain builds a database of responses so when the real situation happens it will not be the first time you are encountering the threat. The key to stress inoculation is realistic training.  Utilizing force-on-force training with appropriate safety equipment at full speed and full power is what will induce the realism of stress. Through such training, you will learn to control your body’s reaction to stress. Force-on-force training with non-lethal training ammunition provides a great opportunity to induce stress.  Immediate feedback enables you to see first-hand what works, what doesn’t work, and how you will respond.  Remember, your training will never completely prepare you for what you may encounter in the real world. When you find yourself feeling either psychological or physiological reactions to stress and you are beginning to lose control you must immediately regain your composure by focusing on the threat, do what you need to do to neutralize the threat and breathe. Remember that there may be more than one threat so you must maintain situational awareness to avoid becoming missile locked on one threat when there are multiple threats. Assume nothing, be ready for anything, and react with speed and decisiveness. You will prevail because you are trained, you are ready and because failure is not an option.

Ego

There should be no place for ego when training. If you think that you are the best there is then you will be in for a rude awakening when faced with a better adversary. Confidence is good; thinking that you are the center of the combat world is not. There is always going to be someone who is bigger, stronger, faster, more committed, or more skilled than you. That is reality. Having an open mind is imperative during training so that you are open to learning new tactics or techniques even when your first impression is that it will not work. An open mind is also important because you may have to let go of long held beliefs regarding a technique or tactic. Try to refrain from making judgment until you try the technique or tactic a few times under stress utilizing full speed and full force. The technique or tactic may prove more useful than you anticipated or it may confirm your belief that it has no place in your tool box. But, unless you give it a proper chance you may never know the potential benefit.

Think back to the early days of Mixed Martial Arts fights. It was promoted as one “style” pitted another “style”.  Today, most fighters are well versed in many different aspects of the fighting arts such as grappling, submission, punching, kicking, etc. Holding on to one style will no longer provide you with the necessary tools to win in a cage fight. The same holds true for law enforcement. The big difference is we don’t fight in a cage and law enforcement is not a sport. Losing can literally mean death. We must win which means that we must be open to an honest, objective, and realistic assessment of our capabilities.

What It All Means

Train in a way that will prepare you for a real encounter. Make no assumptions even when training, always react with a technique, and never stop even when you make a mistake. Understand that during a violent encounter your body will respond to stress so your training must include stress inoculation. It is important to understand how training concepts fits in with specific techniques or tactics.

Train yourself for success because the alternative is not acceptable. The time you can dedicate to training may be limited so practice what works.

Train like your life depends on it because - it does!

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