Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Principles of War: Self Analysis - Objective

I’m analyzing my martial arts skills, capabilities, and personal style through the lens of the Principles of War as defined in U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-0 starting on page 4-11. My commentaries on the definitions are found through the links below.

Mass
Objective
Offensive
Surprise
Economy of Force
Maneuver
Unity of Command
Security
Simplicity

My grade for Mass was a “C”. Now it’s time to get a grade on the Principle of War: Objective.

“Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective.”

An objective must be defined, decisive, and attainable.

Defined:
Strategically, my objective in the self defense situation is clear and predetermined; survival with minimum injury for myself and my loved ones.

Tactically, my objective is a decisive disabling counter technique – a clean hard Judo throw, a sidekick to the side of the knee, a knife-hand strike to the throat, or a hammer fist to the clavicle. But, I’ll wait for the opportunity even while trying to create it through feints, jabs, and offensive combinations.

I think my Objective is well defined and so I grade this element of the Principle of War an “A”.

Decisive:
My strategic objective is decisive. Tactically, however, I can’t be certain that a successful attack would be decisive – that it would achieve the strategic objective. Consequently, I’ll give myself a “B” for this element of the Principle of War: Objective.

Attainable:
My strategic and tactical objectives are attainable – that is; perceived by me to be possible. The probability of success depends on the capability of my opponent. The probability, however, is never zero. It is always possible to catch a good counter technique against even a highly training opponent. For the “Attainable” element of the Principle of War: Objective I grade myself a “B”.

Overall Grade:
I’ve graded myself an “A” for “defined”; a “B” for “decisive”; and a “B” for “attainable”. Overall, my grade for the Principle of War: Objective is a “B”.

In my next post I’ll grade myself on the Principle of War Offensive.

Link to the Martial Arts Training Report: The Principles of War

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Principles of War: Self Analysis - Mass

I’m analyzing my martial arts skills, capabilities, and personal style through the lens of the Principles of War as defined in U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-0 starting on page 4-11. My commentaries on the definitions are found through the links below.

Mass
Objective
Offensive
Surprise
Economy of Force
Maneuver
Unity of Command
Security
Simplicity

The question is; how does my personal martial arts style stack up against the Principle of War - Mass?

“Concentrate the effects of combat power at the decisive place and time.”

Decisive Time:
In a self defense situation the decisive time is NOW. Perhaps the word time in the definition above should be understood as “timing”. The self defense situation will consume seconds, perhaps minutes, but rarely hours.

Timing then refers to the coordination of your technique with the ebb and flow of your opponent’s movements. I’m a natural counter-puncher - using the word loosely – largely because my timing is quite good. I can launch a hand strike, kick, or Judo throw to take advantage of uki’s (the opponent’s) motion with high confidence of success.

My strong tendency to fight as a counter-puncher is a real disadvantage in tournament competition where aggressiveness is rewarded and defensiveness penalized. However, in self defense it can be an advantage, at least in the immediate stage of a confrontation. So, I think I score well on the “decisive time” portion of the definition. I’ll give myself a “B”.

Decisive Place:
The “decisive place” must be interpreted as the target that, if successfully attacked, is most likely to achieve the goal of self defense; survival with minimum injury for yourself and your loved ones.

As a “counter-puncher” I take the target of opportunity - not a target I’ve selected as THE decisive objective required to defeat the opponent or defuse the situation. By training, I actively look for an opportunity to kick uki’s knee or throw him with harai goshi (thereby hitting him with the parking lot).

But, I’m really not very good at creating an opening to attack a desired target; another weakness in tournament competition. Oh, I can do it against less skilled opponents. And, if my opponent is virtually untrained, I can do it at will. But, against an opponent of comparable or higher skill – it’s simply a low probability outcome.

So, I have to grade myself poorly on the “decisive place” portion of the definition of Mass; call it a “D”.

Concentrate the Effects of Combat Power:
The third and last element of Mass is “concentrate the effects of combat power”. I interpret this for the self defense situation to mean – execute your attack with full power. In other words, fully commit to your technique.

I’ve found that my willingness to fully commit to a technique is directly related to my confidence in the technique. Consequently, I can and will fully commit to any one of my favorite techniques, sidekick, harai goshi, o-soto gari, or an elbow strike. I’m less willing to commit to other techniques, such as most punches, o-goshi, ippon seoi nage, or koto gaiashi.

But, under attack, I’m unlikely to attempt a technique that isn’t one of my favorites that I have confidence in.

In competition and in the dojo, I try many techniques besides my favorites. And, occasionally, they work for me, but when things get tight I go to my basics. With those I can fully commit.

Since this element of the definition is such a mixed bag, I have to rate myself as mediocre on “concentrate the effects of combat power”. I’ll give myself a “C”.

Overall Grade:
I’ve graded myself a “B” for “decisive time”; a “D” for “decisive place”; and a “C” for “concentrating the effects of combat power”. Overall, then my grade for the Principle of War: Mass is a “C”.

My take-away from this analysis is this: I want to develop a strategy and tactics for creating an opening to attack the “decisive place”. This will significantly improve my self defense capability. It wouldn’t hurt for competition either!

Next I’ll grade myself on the Principle of War: Objective.

Link to the Martial Arts Training Report: The Principles of War

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Camp Budo 2010 - The Martial Arts Event I Make A Priority

Every year, Camp Budo is the one Martial Arts event that I make sure I attend. It's a long weekend filled with learning, fellowship and fun. Usually between 7 and 11 Masters of various martial arts take turns teaching principles and techniques each from their own art.

This year, Camp Budo will run from July 30th thru August 1st. I'll see you there!

Location:
Crescent Moon Dojo located at
909 Washington St.
Graham NC (just East of Burlington, NC)

Times:
Friday, July 30th - 5:00pm until 7:30pm

Saturday, July 31st - 9:00am until 12:00 "break for Lunch" Back on the mats at 1:30 until 4:30 or 5:00pm depending on the heat.

Sunday, August 1st - 9:00am until 12:00 noon.

Please forward this to all your Martial Arts friends - they'll be glad you did.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Principles of War: Self Analysis - Weapons

I’m analyzing my martial arts skills, capabilities, and personal style through the lens of the Principles of War. U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-0 starting on page 4-11 defines the Principles of War. My commentary on these definitions can be found through the links below.

Mass
Objective
Offensive
Surprise
Economy of Force
Maneuver
Unity of Command
Security
Simplicity


Any discussion of self defense that excludes the use of weapons is just silly. First, a serious attacker – and maybe even a drunk – is likely to attack you with a weapon. Second, a weapon is a force multiplier and if you are attacked multiplying the force you bring to bear on the attacker is a good thing,

Clearly, a gun trumps other weapons for self defense. I support the Second Amendment. I support “shall issue” concealed carry laws. And, I support people who carry concealed for self defense.

Carrying a gun is a very personal decision and it’s not for everyone. You need to know how to use it. More importantly, you need to be willing to use it when necessary and you need to clearly understand when it’s necessary.

That being said, my topic is other legal objects that I can, in a pinch, use as a force multiplier and how I train to use them.

There are three generic implements easily found or carried just about anywhere. They’re not legally classified as weapons but they can be effective force multipliers. They are: a cane (any stick-like object 2 to 4 feet long), a kubotan (any stick-like object 6 to 12 inches long), and a knife (any sharp object less than 18 inches long).
I prefer the cane and I’ve developed a sophisticated training regimen around the crooked cane or the umbrella. The problem is I don’t actually carry a cane or an umbrella with me unless it’s raining. Cane-like sticks are sometimes available in the environment, however, and if one is available I’ll certainly use it.

On the other hand, I almost always carry an aluminum barreled ball point pen about 6 inches long. I train to use this and other pens and objects as kubotans. I also carry a legal folding knife with a handle approximately 5 inches long and a 3.5 inch blade. The knife can be used as a kubotan when the blade is folded and, of course, as a knife when the blade is extended.

Either the pen or the folded knife can be brought to bear very quickly. It takes a bit longer to open the blade. Even though I train myself to open the blade with one hand it can only be done when I’m not engaged with an opponent.

So, the most likely self defense scenario would find me drawing either my pen or my folded knife to use as a kubotan. My choice of weapon would depend on which hand was most free. If my right hand is free I would draw the pen; if only my left hand is free I would draw the folded knife. That’s simply the way I carry them.

The kubotan can be used in some joint locking techniques but I don’t care for those techniques and so I use the kubotan only as a striking weapon.

The cane, however, has many effective joint locking and choking techniques that work with my style and I train with them regularly. If I can get my hands on an appropriate stick my defense capability will be multiplied five-fold.

Finally, I think I’m ready to evaluate my self defense style through the lens of the Principles of War. I’ll begin with Mass in my next post.

Link to the Martial Arts Training Report: The Principles of War

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Principles of War: Self Analysis – Chokes & Joint Locks

I’m analyzing my martial arts skills, capabilities, and personal style through the lens of the Principles of War. U.S. Army Field Manual FM 3-0 starting on page 4-11 defines the Principles of War. My commentary on these definitions can be found through the links below.

Mass
Objective
Offensive
Surprise
Economy of Force
Maneuver
Unity of Command
Security
Simplicity

I prefer to fight standing up. In a self defense situation you can’t know how many allies your opponent may have nearby. Your opponent may have concealed weapons and certainly has the possibility of picking up expedient weapons from the environment. For these reasons, I think it imprudent to be immobilized on the ground.

Nevertheless, sometimes going to the ground may be unavoidable. This is when choking and joint locking techniques become primary self defense tools.

My favorite chokes are nami juji jimi (a two-hand collar strangle), gaku juji jimi (one-hand on the collar and one on the lapel face to face), okuri uri jimi (one-hand on the collar and one on the lapel applied from behind) and two versions of hadaka jimi (naked choke – that is without using the opponent’s clothing to execute the technique).

By far, my favorite joint lock is juji gatame the classic Judo arm bar. Less effective but generally easier to get is a “chicken wing-like wrist lock or finger locks and knuckle jams.

Chokes and joint locks can be applied standing but rarely are. It’s difficult to immobilize your opponent enough to hold these techniques while standing and moving around on your feet.

Before I dissect my personal style using the Principles of War standard, I must address self defense weapons; those carried with you and the expedient weapons found on the field of the contest. That will be the subject of the next post.

Link to the Martial Arts Training Report: The Principles of War