|
Navigation
|
 |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Article Navigation:
Want to write?
We're always looking for new writers and people willing to help out with the magazine and site. If you're interested, [Click here for more info]. |
|
Stay Updated!
If you'd like to stay updated and recieve a notice when the next issue of is released, just sign up at our forums by [Clicking here]. We will send out a mass e-mail to all our members when the next issue is released. |
|
Your Comments
Let us know how you feel about this issue. We will read e-mail sent and would appreciate any comments and/or suggestions that you may have. [Click here]. |
|
|
|
 |
Tactics IV
by Woody Long, Author of Martial Mind For All
(For more information on Woody Long and where to find Martial Mind for All, please click on the above banner.)
(Please see IronLife Online Magazine Issues 9-12 for Woody Long's previous articles on combat sports tactics.)
I was in a combat tai chi class about four years ago and the guy next to me said he wanted to be the "ultimate fighter." His whole life revolved around just this, becoming the ultimate fighter. This got me to thinking. Probably most martial artists are striving to get as close as they can to being the ultimate fighter. But with the advent of mixed martial arts I think we all can agree that the cage fighters are at the top of the heap. In terms of expanse of training, the mixed martial artists are defining what an ultimate fighter is. This is because they train in all four realms of techniques, and so are fully loaded with firepower. In theory it is easy to conclude that the mixed martial artist, well trained, is the definition of the ultimate fighter. By well trained is meant techniques muscle memorized, tactics mind memorized, and the body in peak physical condition.
Many of you are probably training to be such an ultimate fighter. The US military also now provides training in mixed martial arts, which they call combatives, and the Infantry captains (and above) know tactics, command and control (C2), and the rules of combat like they know the air they breathe. So they are trained in the full boat load of martial arts skills, including discipline, combat support (psyops) and combat service support (medical support, logistics). Thus their training comes closest to being full training for becoming the ultimate fighter. All these terms will be described later, but I just wanted to show you the full syllabus for mixed martial art training as provided by the US military. I have studied, gathered, and boiled down all this military martial art training, specifically for martial artists, and it will soon be available in my book.
So I said to the guy, if I were still young, this is the range of training I would seek to become the ultimate fighter. Of course, we all decide just which realms of techniques we want to train in, to get as close as we desire to becoming the ultimate fighter. This might mean specializing in kickboxing, boxing, or one of the traditional martial art forms, etc., but we are all climbing the same mountain.
Most martial artists come from gritty if not grimy neighborhoods, and their organized response to the grit and the grime, the daily work drudgery and need for street defense skills is their martial art. And all of the above are useful components of the martial art, in the martial quest to "fight, win, and survive."
Take for example "a day in the life" of a martial artist. The general martial mission is always the same: to fight, win, and survive. To this end he trains for two hours a day, sparring as much as he can. Thus his fighting skills provide him with street defense capability. He supports this capability, and his very existence, using his survival skills. He manages his stress and injuries (medical support tasks), and he finds and does a job to provide his provisions (logistics task). And he does it all by thinking on his feet, which is to say setting up and supervising these tasks, i.e., using his C2 skills.
So martial art training, no matter what school, means training in fighting skills, survival skills, and C2 skills. All schools teach fighting skills in one or more technique realms. They all try to get you to think on your feet, which is to say use your C2 skills. And one way or another they all touch on the survival skills of stress control, pain/injury management (called medical support), and having a good work ethic (logistics support). Thus any martial art can be defined as the art of commanding, executing, and controlling tasks, employing discipline and the rules of combat (ROCs), in order to fight, win, and survive.
Fighting skills means techniques and tactics skills. Just as the muscles are programmed with techniques, the mind is programmed with tactics. Last time we saw how the tactical fighter first recons the situation to determine if the opponent is incoming or backed off. If incoming it is time for defense with the two tools. If backed off perhaps it is time for the offense with the two tools. And if avoiding or regrouping is required, then it is time to retrograde. In tactics, transitioning is the term used for switching from the defense to the offense, etc.
Smooth, quick transitioning based on the opponent situation is the hallmark of the skilled tactical fighter. It is a unique skill to shape and close on an incoming opponent who is attacking with his hands and legs. This is your defensive skill. It is a whole other skill to shape and close on an opponent who is backed off in a defensive posture. This is your offensive skill. Defense is thwarting an incoming opponent using the two tools. Offense is advancing toward a backed off opponent using the two tools. Transitioning from one to the other requires thinking on your feet or C2 skills.
So I hope that this encourages you to get to a martial art school or boxing gym that appeals to you and get your training started, if you haven't already. What are you waiting for? The mountain awaits. And please look for Tactics V, found only here, in IronLife Online Magazine Issue 14.
Note about the author: Woody Long has studied combat tai chi and US combat tactics since 1987. This article was adapted from his book, Martial Mind For All.
* Article by Woody Long, Author of Martial Mind For All.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
|
|
|
