Trained Brutality

[Greg Newton]

None of us who are law abiding citizens in America and who grew up with a middle class ethos are brutal. We abhor individual acts of brutality. The thought of cutting someone with a knife or gouging out an eye is repulsive to us. I know it is repulsive to me.

However, to defend yourself, with no other recourse of escape, brutality may be the only means to protect your life or the life of another. I have an excellent teaching video called "Race, Justice and America: the Rodney King Incident." In it, the former LAPD supervisor, Sgt. Stacy Koon, who orchestrated the arrest of King, commented that police work sometimes had to be brutal and that there wasn't anyway around that.

Stacy Koon is a different kind of individual. In a world of grays and shadows of right and wrong he views things entirely from black and white. You are either right or you are wrong. But his assessment of law enforcement is valid and this also applies to self-defense.

The criminal has no such regards. They do what they want and they use the system to their advantage. But those of us who abide by the rule of law must go by a different standard. We have a duty to act only when there is no other line of escape. We have a responsibility to only stop an attack, not to punish.

Along with that, we have the responsibility of only using what force is necessary to stop that attack. That is why it is important to always be alert and aware of what is going on around you. The more perceptive you are to your surroundings, the more choices you have to react.

However, we circle back to our original train of thought and that is brutality. For a victim to defend against a larger, stronger, better armed, or drugged up predator, there has to be brutality. There is no way around that. Unfortunately most martial arts schools don't teach brutality. Somehow, some way that backfist or that spinning sidekick you've practiced for years will hit the target and take out your attacker.

True self-defense means that you train for the eventuallity that you may have to use extreme violence to protect yourself or someone you love. That means knowing how to incapacitate by causing damage that will maim and possibly kill an attacker. There is no halfway point. You must mentality prepare yourself to be able to do this and that takes removing our conditioned attitudes not to behave in this way through training and visualization.

Greg Newton

[MikeNY]

True wisdom Greg and this is something people must decide prior to becoming a victim, the right to life is given us by God.

[tom]

Then there is the opposite scenario where the self-defenser is all about reality, brutality, and the necessary eye gouge and some poor drunk beer drinker loses an eye because he took a swing and tackle at the self-defenser for not standing up when his favorite team came up on the TV screen.

This point goes back to your point of where you go and my point of a dueling situation being thought of as self-defense. And Larry's advice to apologize, and buy the dude another beer.

Tom

[Greg Newton]

Tom, I want to expound on your point about dueling, which is extremely important. To learn self-defense you have to erradicate childhood images of "standing up for yourself," and decondition yourself from hundreds of hours of TV and movies where the hero takes a stand and lays out the bad guys without any permanent damage or consequences.

As you pointed out, many peoples perception of self-defense is actually dueling, where the confrontation was fueled by hostile verbal and body language on both sides which escalated the conflict. Part of keeping eyes wide open is recognizing your body and mind's own reaction to stress and controlling it.

Secondarily, you train for options. The force you'd use to stop a drug crazed maniac would be different from say a girlfriend or wife trying to hit you out of anger. Basic evasions, blocking, and grappling mechanics should be a part of every self-defense syllabus.

In law enforcement there is a use of force continuum. This is something that should be developed for any civilian self-defense system. In martial arts systems we train the body to react, but we don't necessarily train the mind to evaluate and the body to adapt.

Greg

[MikeNY]

A good example of the Use of Force Continuum is G. Gordon Liddy of the old Watergate Scandal. While serving time in Prison he knew he would be tested by the Inmates. Rather then use the self defense skills he had learned in the Military and FBI if attacked by another prisoner, he used Boxing; the self defense skills he had learned in the Military and FBI were to injure and kill, while Boxing allowed for defense on a limited scale and not brutal injuries or death. Boxing also has available a harsh aspect in European Bare Knuckle Boxing which can be used to inflict brutal injuries and death.

[blackbelt]

In martial arts systems we train the body to react, but we don't necessarily train the mind to evaluate and the body to adapt.

I believe what Greg stated above is true, not only for striking martial artists, but for the more passive arts like Aikido and Judo.

This is where finding the right instructor/school can be VERY helpful.

I believe that if one trains/practices accordingly, the execution of techniques can be modified to do more or less damage. Good or bad, this sort of modification is only possible with a LOT of practice.

[Greg Newton]

believe that if one trains/practices accordingly, the execution of techniques can be modified to do more or less damage. Good or bad, this sort of modification is only possible with a LOT of practice.

Hi Rob,

I agree wholeheartedly. However, most people who need self-defense training don't have the time or the inclination to study martial arts for years. That is one one of the reasons I like Larry's videos. It shows simple solutions that can be practiced with out having to learn fine motor skills. But, like anything else, they do need periodic practice for retention.

I am also a big John McSweeney fan. I never knew anything about McSweeney's system until John sent me his book and his videotapes and I was bowled over. It was simple practical, easy to learn and easy to retain. If you were to take McSweeney's basic system and add some very body mechanics from Judo and Jujitsu for evasions, trips, and joint locks, you'd have a system of self defense that could be used to escalate and de-escalate the amount of force as needed.

We do need though to train people to process the threat continuum in making self defense choices. One would have to have the following qualifiers to do that:

1. Confidence in one's abilities to defend.

2. A small, well practiced repertoire.

3. Mental alertness.

4. Pre-planning options.

5. An understanding of their own emotions.

6. An understanding of predator actions and reactions.

5. The ability to judge what force is necessary to stop a threat.

Greg

[MikeNY]

Yes guys most martial arts are now geared to competition and not real world self defence, even MMA which has self defense moves is geared towards winning in the ring. Greg I agree with your views! MacSweeney gives you a simple core that can be built on and simple and fast works.

As a boy I was taught Boxing and Self Defense Boxing, but did not like to strike another boy in the face, but if attacked responded and used what I had learned. Being one of the smallest boy in my age group made that knowledge important, there were always bullies in NY.