In a fight there is no such thing as a “defensive” action; everything has to be offensive in its nature and its attitude: a block has to be an attack and an escape has to be an attack etc. If your intent is not to cause harm and damage in everything you do your head is in the wrong space. There are no passive or neutral actions in a fight.

This week in class we have been looking at defenses against side-headlocks. It should always be remembered that strangles, chokes and controls are things that you should prevent from happening. They are “worst case scenarios” that occur because something has gone wrong e.g. that you have not controlled range, that you have not kept your head over your hips, that you have not been aware of third parties in your environment etc. The fact that 95% of violence starts face-to-face means that when you are dealing with violence, escapes from various controls should not be necessary – you should have dealt with the situation before such attacks and controls can be made.

If you are looking to prevent or deal with a particular attack before it occurs your escape/defense can actually become an offensive maneuver or technique; a setup and control that features as part of an attacking combination etc.

I am continually fascinated by the mindset of people who come to class or attend seminars etc whose goal is to learn how to escape and deal with various situations as opposed to learning how to prevent them. In Seminar situations, where I’m trying to teach broad and universal solutions to violence I’ll often get someone who asks the question, “but what if they’ve pinned me against a wall” etc. My immediate response is, how did you get in that situation? I’m not trying to dodge the question but rather communicate the point that the worst the scenario you face, the more likely you’ve failed in trying to put appropriate defensive measures/tactics in place. We can always imagine the worst, and must have the appropriate skillset in place for when it happens, however we should also recognize that we have the power to stop these situations occurring.

Side Headlock attacks have to be “setup” i.e. there are certain events that precede them – mainly on behalf of the person being attacked. If a person keeps their head over their hips this type of attack is completely nullified comply to the general  principals of Krav Maga) however there are always the situations where this isn’t possible;  which is why there/The system has to have a counter to the attack. If a person recognizes as they’re making their own attacks that an individual may try and counter what they are doing by trying to “side-headlock” them then the technique to deal with such an attack can become offensive rather than defensive e.g. a person can palm off a side headlock attack and continue their assault etc. This same “palm off” being the starting position for dealing with a committed side-headlock defense.

An attack/assault occurs along a timeline. Hopefully you can pick up on this at the earliest opportunity and walk away, if not you should be looking to prevent the assault, and if failing that to deal with it when it is in the attackers infancy – before it’s a fully committed/completed attack.

I’m old school. I grab you you’re thrown or swept, I hit you, you don’t get up (this is how I think), your job is to make sure this doesn’t happen. Understand why we train the way we do. Yes, we will continue to teach escapes, counters and escapes etc but also understand the context (and likelihood of the attack/threat). If you can avoid the threat, control range etc and know how to de-escalate your safe. I’m subject to the same laws as everybody else – give me the chance to be reasonable and I will.

Today we train. Let’s do so with a mind that looks to attack and not just respond to the threat – but rather deal with it I its infancy.