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Self Defence
& Security - Articles - Fit to Fight, part one |
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I
started training in traditional Karate when I was 15,
which for those people who don't know me, is a 'tad'
over 10 years ago! (for those who do its more like 36
years ago). Some 3-4 years later I was firmly entranched
on the Gt. Britain and England Karate squad. I had firmly
resisted traditional school sports throughout my academic
life, but threw myself into the rigours of Karate and,
with the best of them, marched up and down throwing
kicks, punches and blocks with mind numbing intensity.
Other training was fairly non-existent and it wasn't
until, in my late teens, that the feeling that I needed
more, came into being. This coincided with my starting
work 'on the doors' in Manchester, where I stayed in
one club for some six years.
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This particular club grew over
the years to become a cavernous affair, being split
over two floors and having a capacity in excess of a
thousand people. From the door to the furthest room
was nearly halfway across Manchester, albeit underground.
The system used to summon us from the door to a trouble
spot, was the same as used in countless nightclubs,
that is a loud bell and a flashing light, indicating
which room the trouble was in and whether one was being
summoned by the DJ in that room or by someone at the
bar who had seen the trouble flair.
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For those of you who have never
had the dubious pleasure of 'working the doors', it
acquaints closely, I would think, with the life of a
Fireman - long periods of boring inactivity, punctuated
by short bursts of panic, stress and sometimes terror.
The starting point is the same - the sound of the bell.
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The sound of the bell going off
was not simply a detached signal that indicated you
were required somewhere at your leisure. It was 'Pavlovian'
- and although it didn't produce a salivating effect
as the bell did with Pavlov's dogs, the reaction we
experienced, instantaneously triggered off that huge
'dump' of adrenalin, instant nerves, rapidly increased
heartrate, tension and trepidation. All the emotions
and clinical responses became mixed and were then exacerbated
by exertion.
With a single glance at
the bell board, everyone 'set off'. Two or more doormen
took the first few steps in one bound and then set off
what can only be described as a human obstacle race,
bouncing off corridor walls, missing and not missing
people in the way, taking stairs four or more at a time
and negotiating past hundreds of people. With a heart
rate touching two hundred, one would eventually reach
the scene of the action.
Often whatever had happened had
been over for some time, which was inevitable given
the time we took to get there, or we would have to fight.
With your legs 'gone solid' and shaking with exertion,
an inability to talk due to gasping for breath and a
lead ball in your stomach the size of something that
sank the Armada, the chances of being effective were
greatly diminished. It was on these occasions that I
came to realise that if I ever had to seriously run
from or to a fight, I was ill-prepared and that when
it came to the hands and legs bit, that I probably wouldn't
have it. What I realised above everything was that the
majority of my training was not done under 'STRESS'
conditions, which is the real world. To be fair, I had
thought for some time that my internal reserves lacked
a certain depth, but what struck me the most was how
much more reluctant I was to engage in a fight when
I felt distressed, as I knew how taxing it would become
and I knew that how I would feel was weakening my resolve.
I always wanted to feel 'comfortable' and in control
of combat situations. I didn't want to engage in combat,
feeling as if I'd just come from a 15-round fight. I
wasn't physically prepared sufficiently to deal with
the reality of the situation.
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early on working the door, I had quickly come to the realisation
that in order to survive, it was necessary to develop
a strategy of Pre-emptiveness, when one knew that a fight
was probably inevitable, but in the early days I didn't
always get it right and often found myself in a brawl.
When this happens, all the 'anti-success' agents come
to the fore - fear, adrenalin, lactic acide, dead legs,
hollow stomach and a waining mental resolve.
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I knew that I needed to train
outside the confines of Karate and it took many years
of self-discipline, pursuing a variety of training routes
and methods, both with others and by myself, to establish
a wide range of drills and skills to achieve what I
needed. I now know that in the event of flight or fight
that I may end up with those same debilitating feelings,
but I also know that I can fight through. I've been
there plenty of times and know how to plumb the depths.
From better understanding the clinical responses, I
can also put my 'emotions' and feelings into convenient
boxes. I no longer confuse the feeling of fear and adrenalin
for example. I also know that my opponent is feeling
equally as bad and that we are usually only seconds
away from one of us quitting, but I know without reservation,
that in the street it won't be me.
I know that when I'm on a hill with someone on my back
that I'll make it those last few feet to the top, however
bad I'm feeling. Some days you won't make it through
a training session for whatever reason, but what you
also know, is that on those days, when you're having
a bad one, that if you don't succeed today, you'll be
back tomorrow and make up for it.
You should be intimidated by your training sessions,
not every one, but at least two or three out of four
to five in a week. If you're not intimidated by these
special sessions then they're not hard enough.
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You
should literally find it hard to sleep the night before.
These sessions may be on the hills, or in the Dojo or
Gym, but wherever, they should be so hard that only
very few people will consistently train with you.
Over the years, I've had excellent
training partners and I've always managed to associate
myself with people who were never satisfied with coasting
along or making do, but people who would always make
a session hard if they were in charge, or go along with
my regime if it was me who took the lead. The one thing
you must have in a partner is consistency - someone
who will be ready on time, come hell or bad weather
and who is ready to train, not just take part. Everyone
can't feel world beating all the time, but however you
feel, you must NEVER allow any negativity you have to
influence others. Be positive and aggressive and leave
your ego at home.
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I've
seen senior martial artists whose ego can't take the severity
of hard physical training. Whatever grade you are, (which
is bollocks anyway), if you can't hack a hard 'cross training'
regime, you need to look at yourself. You practise a combat
system and it's a disgrace to see supposed senior martial
artists look like they've spread like a 'bag of wet cement'.
Also over the years I've been
happy to align myself with people of whatever grade,
in whatever system, who I know will push me to the limits.
I don't like it because I'm intimidated by failure or
the prospect and I'm intimidated by not doing well in
front of others, but generally I'll never let myself
down. I know I've got enough depth of self and control
of my ego to come back for more if it was hard and intimidating
the first time.
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In the early '80s, I was training
with Lance Lewis and Brian Seabright, both of whom were
British Full Contact Champions, boxers and natural martial
artists. Amongst other things they were into two minute
rounds of kicking on the body shields, which up to that
time I had simply been using for power kicking. I remember
the first session where my thighs seized up and I wobbled
down four flights or stairs to leave the building. However,
over the following months and subsequent years, I was
able to not only complete the drills, but ensure that
the rounds on the shields were full power ones as well.
I've never been 'hamstrung' by being a natural. By
that I mean I realised very early on that I was not
naturally fit, naturally strong nor naturally talented
from a sporting aspect. I realised that only repetition
and hard work would ever allow me to be good and, in
some areas, marginally above good, but I also realised
more than anything that to work hard would be a constant
mental battle with myself and my own worst instincts.
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Training
is like pushing a stalled car uphill. You're either
going up or you're rolling down - there's no half way.
Either your working hard and pushing yourself all the
time or you're not and you're making excuses and your
fitness is lost. The middle ground, which I say doesn't
exist, does - it exists in peoples minds!, who deceive
themselves that they are still pushing it. They say
to you, upon enquiry, that they are 'holding their own',
or they're into a period of 'maintenance' - bollocks
- they're rolling backwards and need to be honest enough
to see it. I know when it happens to me and I've learned
to let my conscience have free reign.
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To achieve success in a fight
is the sum total of many physical aspects and attributes,
both technique and training related, but the deciding
factor in terms of a successful outcome is solely related
to one factor only - 'mental attitude'. This can often
be the missing link for many people who find themselves
confronted in the street with an intimidating, aggressive,
threatening and often frightening confrontation. Don't
believe that being a high grade in martial arts lessens
any of these emotions and often they are heightened
due to a fear of failure should things go wrong when
years of training seem to go down the drain. One pound
for every martial artist whose been taken out in the
street or knocked out on the door would swell a bank
account to very enviable proportions.
For many martial artists, they never experience the
stark reality of real combat until it is too late. My
book 'Fit To Fight' is not about developing a complete
approach to surviving street confrontations (see my
book 'Streetwise'), it is about one piece of the jigsaw.
It is about the mental edge and attitude that can be
bred through the physical exertions of hard training
and conditioning. Hard, demanding physical training
is not about developing strength, speed or suppleness,
although these elements and a good cardio-vascular capacity
are part of what one should aim for. More importantly,
it is about the effect it has on a person's mental attitude
and the consequent mental control that we exercise over
ourselves.
The physical aspects and results of a training regime
are transient. They will stay with you as long as they
are maintained through exertion, but when that stops,
years of training will not ensure that a person's fitness
remains - it will leave your body in a matter of weeks
as if a tap had been turned on. What can and does remain,
however, is that mindset of winning, that attitude not
to give up.
Many years ago I enjoyed watching a business training
video which centred around the business success of former
American Football players who were ex-members of the
Green Bay Packers. The Packers in the '60s, under the
guidance of their then coach Vince Lombardi, enjoyed
unrivalled success in the sport. Lombardi was successful
because he understood what separated winners from losers.
He knew it wasn't skill, physical prowess or strength
and speed, rather he worked on his players mental strengths.
He bred a desire and a will to win and recognised the
transient nature of physical abilities, rather the permanent
improvement in the 'positive' attitude that flowed from
training. He said "all the money, all the prizes,
all the success linger in the memory for a few short
years then are soon gone, but the will to win, the will
to endure, that's what remains".
How do we obtain that will to win? For me its attained
by the constant re-inforcement of succeeding at hard
training sessions. Training is not about easy workouts
and perfecting technique and pleasant experiences and
if you're looking for a book that will pamper to the
'token trainer' in you then put 'Fit To Fight' back
on the shelf. This book is not about how to build a
programme of easy to do aerobic exercises - it is about
plugging you into a taxing and hard to endure regime,
which tests not only your physical capability, but,
and this is the primary intent, your mental resources.
'Fit To Fight' is about NOT GIVING UP and this is the
key to your success in winning fights. Fights are not
lost because of bad technique. Once a fight starts and
its one you were unable to stop with pre-emptive action,
(dialogue or a knockout), then the fight will not always
be won by the fittest or strongest, but by the one with
the stronger mind. By the same token, however, its not
sufficient to simply rely on a strong mind and neglect
all the other aspects and, very much, this book will
provide for you all the training drills you need to
compliment a strong mind.
To give in on the street may be to suffer serious injury,
or at worst, die. Its happening all the time and we
read about such incidents daily. The scum who walk the
streets these days revel in causing as much pain, suffering
and injury to innocent people as they can. Violence
has taken on a very gratuitous nature. Maiming or killing
someone holds no fear for them and the 'pack' instincts
getting stronger all the time. Unfortunately, you cannot
learn how not to give up during a fight by going and
picking fights - it has to be derived elsewhere.
The feeling of hollow dread you experience prior to
a fight and then the feeling of utter emptiness and
dissipation of strength and energy during it, are in
large part clinical in origin. These feelings are a
combination of some psychological emotions such as fear
and some physiological symptoms such as adrenalin and
mild shock, but when they grip hold of you they will
nullify whatever brilliant techniques you may have developed
in the relative safety of the Dojo or the boxing or
wrestling gym. One thing and one thing only will get
you through those feelings and that's AGGRESSION. A
controlled, fighting aggression must be developed and,
unfortunately, its not natural in most people. To develop
it you must place yourself in 'Pressure' situations
where only aggression and mental focus will see you
through to successful conclusion in the endeavour.
When you feel confident to embark on some training
drills in this book you will experience a very close
approximation of the feeling of hollow inability to
carry on, particularly with the heavy Anaerobic work,
but you will know that in 'pushing through', your subconscious
is being programmed to accept that however bad you feel
you have that 'extra' mental surge in you. This, over
a period, will build into an indomitable spirit, fed
by controlled aggression.
Few of us are confident by nature. We become confident
through the experience of success. Those people who
suffer an attack in the street, usually unprovoked and
often gratuitously violent, are never the same again.
Their confidence in themselves and their abilities can
be shattered forever. The techniques and concepts of
Self Protection you will have to learn from elsewhere
(see Streetwise), but the confidence and strength of
purpose you can develop from severe training with induced
stress, you will find in these pages.
Whatever you might be studying as a martial art or
training in - weights, boxing etc, never lose sight
of the fact that the physical returns on your effort
are secondary to the development of 'Correct Attitude'
that you are building. Don't ever believe that size
and strength, however intimidating, will win the day,
nor even combat capability and there is a story which
illustrates the fragility of personal belief. George
Foreman, prior to one of his fights with Ali had the
not inconsiderable advantage of having that great ring
strategist Archie Moore employed by his camp to work
with him. Moore later said that Foreman's confidence
- and remember this is one of the world's greatest heavyweight
boxers - was so precarious, that he used to let him
win at 'ping pong' when they played, so as not to shake
his confidence in himself. Many people are beaten before
the fight starts. They have no inate animal instinct
to win and no 'trained' aggressive response to 'fight
through'.
This book is about training the spirit through the
exertion of the body. You will be able to fill that
hollow dread with the hot fire of aggression that you
will gain from the training drills. To complete some
of the drills we go through in this book is only possible
as a result of being totally focused on one objective.
This may be to complete a number of repetitions, reach
the time determined for the exercise or reach the object
you are sprinting to - possibly uphill. When your body
has gone anaerobic, the lactic acid has set in and you're
running on an empty tank, that tank must still be fuelled
by something and that is your mind, which feeds in to
your system sufficient aggression to get you to the
end.
Some people who are reading Fit To Fight may be martial
artists, open minded enough to want to widen their knowledge
of you may be someone who has no martial arts experience,
but who feel they must do something to put them on a
road to fitness, self-confidence and a path towards
a combat system.
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Do
not get confused however, this book is about fighting
and I don't want anyone to lose sight of this. The drills
and routines in this book have been developed from a
variety of sources and have seen me through a traditional
International karate career, full contact fighting,
years of doorwork and other combat and conflict situations.
The routines are 'cross applicable'. They can be mixed
and matched in most cases, although some of the more
technical martial arts ones won't translate into the
street, but the spirit from the application will. It's
a book about fighting, because it's a book about mental
domination, both of your opponent, but predominantly
and certainly primarily ONESELF!
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YOU MUST KNOW YOURSELF TO
HAVE ANY CHANCE OF WINNING OR THE ABILITY TO CHANGE!
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© 2005 Peter Consterdine. All rights
reserved.
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