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Training Combatives: The How, What and Why of Acquiring Hand-to-Hand Skills
Disclaimer: the opinion presented below is garnered from my personal experience. I make no claims of omnipotence or omniscience. As with all things, analyze this information and use your judgment to make an informed decision on how to integrate the following material into your personal preparations. When it comes down to it, learning how to avoid a fight and effectively negotiate a resolution is as (or more) important than combatives training. However, I will leave the topic of practical negotiation to others who can espouse the finer points better than I.
I was motivated to write this article after gritting my teeth for the past few evenings while reading some related postings on survivalblog. There is a lot of ego tied up with certain martial arts doctrines (as with weapons, calibers etc.), especially when people have been practicing something for many years. Brand myopia generally afflicts people who have such a vested emotional interest in whatever they’re doing that they refuse to consider alternatives. My fear is that well intentioned people are recommending disciplines that are not necessarily the most efficient way to train hand-to-hand combatives. Unseasoned readers and general “noobies” to the whole self-defense/preparedness culture may be easily overwhelmed with useless information and misdirected. With all things in life, truth is found in the middle way. As a result, I’m offering my opinion, which can be best summarized as “Honor truth wherever it is found, and use what works.”
We all know that “preppers” take their physical self defense seriously. It is an essential part of being prepared and being an American. Many of us reading this have spent major time, money and effort acquiring the necessary rifles, handguns, and training to be able to competently defend ourselves and our families over a variety of distances. Many of us have learned that alertness and proper combat mindset are essential to self-defense when the need arises (alertness can help to avoid a potentially nasty confrontation in the first place, which is a good thing), and that training reflexively under pressure helps prepare our bodies and minds to fight effectively.
However, when you made the commitment to being armed and willing to kill to defend yourself and your loved ones, you shouldered a responsibility that does NOT end when the ammo runs out, parts breakages occur or you are separated from your weapons for whatever reason. If you’ve already made the commitment to self-defense to the point of being willing to do whatever is necessary, then you’ve probably realized that your rifle and handgun are simply efficient means to an end. It doesn’t matter what rifle or pistol you carry; they are simply tools that make you a more efficient fighter over longer distances. Regardless of caliber and model, the fact should remain that you are a well-regulated, moral, and dangerous person, with and without weapons.
Sadly, in my limited observations and experience in talking with other “preppers”, many people’s self-defense skills (and mindset) start with how much ammo they’ve got and ends with “…from my cold dead hands.”
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