Subject: Attackproof.com Newsletter #50

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 KI CHUAN DO TRAINING TIPS #50:
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As an ATTACKPROOF.COM newsletter subscriber, we will
be bringing you regular training tips and thoughts on combat
from Grandmaster Perkins, Master Ridenhour, co-author
Matt Kovsky, and others.

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KCD NEWS
 
What you THINK you know
about ground fighting
could get you killed.

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--Drills you've never seen on our videos.
--Why grappling can get you killed.
--Why current U.S. military methods are suicidal.
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--Groundfighting vs. knife and with knife
--Groundfighting vs. multiple attackers
--Groundfighting vs. "Submission fighting"

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The 5 Levels of Cooperation

(or, How to Ruin Your Self-defense
Without Even Trying!)

Error Level 5: "Here I am, now HIT me!"

 
"To survive the onslaught of a more powerful opponent, you need to be so light, soft, flexible, and sensitive, that to your opponent, you feel like a phantom or a cloud, dissolving like the liquid-metal terminator, materializing only for the millisecond needed for your strike's impact."
-Attack Proof
 
Often preached, yet rarely practiced, this level is essential to an understanding of how the weak overcomes the strong. Energy transfers to a solid object far easier than it does to an object without a fixed center of gravity. By bracing or locking up with improper timing or for sustained periods, the majority of fighters provide angles of structure for their attacker to clinch, push, pull or strike because they lack the proper free play (Contact Flow) and other sensitivity training which allows them to engage in the intricate practice of "liquid body/solid body" on a subconscious level.
 
Your body has to have the adaptable and fluid nature of water. At times you will need to be as illusive and invisible as vapor to yield and avoid, then as malleable as water to continue sticking before that split second when you become as solid as ice to deliver the coup de grace. You repeat this process of using dropping energy continuously, striking with the intention to rupture organs and bust bones.
 
Once this quality is ingrained into the nervous system, one can practically obviate all forms of stand up grappling as well as double and single leg take downs, which I'll give an example of in the next subsection, "Embracing the Inevitable". The reason why it's so difficult to appreciate this is because most people have been conditioned to tense up or fight back when pressure is applied against them. 

You need sensitivity to feel when it's appropriate to yield only an isolated part of the body (pocketing) or your entire root altogether, all the while remaining so close that your strikes are still unavoidable. It can take anywhere from 2 months to 2 years for you to reprogram your neuromuscular anatomy so that you can utilize these principles at high speed without conscious thought. It all depends on your previous experience andthe wiring of your nervous system.
 
EMBRACING THE INEVITABLE
 
There is nothing wrong with moving your sphere of influence to the ground. As described in the 1st section, "The Set Up", fighting your own balance and equilibrium in an attempt to remain upright could cause disaster as it did for earlier UFC victims. Here, I will present a physical example straight from the video, "Kill the Enemy" on how to deal with a grappler's double leg takedown, which is one of the most common methods grapplers employ to take the fight to the ground.

Also, this method has been mentioned more than once in previous newsletters, yet there are still many who overlook it because of it's extreme simplicity. That being the case, I will describe the technically correct method of doing a double leg takedown so that you can perform the movement on a training partner and experience the effectiveness of the counter for yourself.

Very frequently, the shooter simply places his head down and literally falls into the standing opponent, smashes the opponent's legs together and simply drives through in the same manner as a "football tackle", all the while sacrificing his own balance. This works in the NFL where  the running back is simply trying to evade you, not guillotine your throat (also note that "clotheslining" is still illegal for the defense--and for offensive linesman as well). For the purposes of this newsletter, the tackle will not be utilized.

THE DOUBLE LEG TAKEDOWN BREAKDOWN
 
For the preface, I'd like to add several important points:
 
1. This is supposed to be an explosive movement occurring in no more than 2 seconds as it should ideally only be performed within touching range.
 
2. This movement is supposed to happen anytime the standing man's balance is shifting and in motion.
 
3. As you perform this demonstration with your training partner, the second point won't be factored in for several reasons.
 
 A. The Sphere of Influence, "Attack the Attacker" methodology and KCD's foot-work cancels point #2 as we never sacrifice our balance when stepping. Period! [For extreme detail on this subject, see the Attack Proof DVD pt.2.]
 
 B. We actually want the movement to work for the demo. In reality, we simply don't care either way, because we will be using his movements to our advantage.
 
The first thing you want to do is lower your level into somewhat of a sprinter's stance. This is to facilitate an explosive penetrating step off of the rear foot so that you can go beneath the opponent's arms and into his hips and legs. At all times, it is important to keep your head up to avoid the guillotine and to make sure that your chest doesn't extend beyond your lead knee. Also, keep your elbows close to your body.
 
The point of having your elbows close to your body is to prevent under hooks, which could allow one of those cool grappling moves like an Inverted Iron Cross or Crucifix; basically any move where the attacker takes control of the shooter by hooking under his armpits and uses the shooter's momentum to roll him over or even roll over him to gain control.
 
What you are aiming to do is get mechanical leverage by hitting the standing man where he bends. Your hands will pull behind his knee and your shoulder will ideally hit him at his hips.
 
For the remainder of this description I will quote "Winning Wrestling Moves" by Mark Mysnyk, Barry Davis and Brooks Simpson:
 
You can penetrate by stepping either between your opponent's legs or to the outside of them. If stepping between them, step your left foot [penetrating foot] at least as deep as both of his feet and move your head just to the outside of his left hip [opposite side of your penetrating foot]..Your shoulders should always be over your lead knee as you shoot in. For further penetration, keep driving into your opponent and go down to your left knee [same knee as penetrating foot], stepping your right foot up to the outside of his left foot [opposite side of your penetrating foot]. Ideally, you will lift him or finish him right away. [Important Note: In the book, there were several other finishes to a double leg takedown which I've decided not to include because the counter nullifies them all without even trying.] 
 
KCD DOESN'T PLAY THAT GAME...

In KCD, the above move is extraordinarily easy to deal with. First of all, if you resist the grappler's energy, you are actually giving the grappler the structure to push, pull and lift you using his leverage, strength and momentum. Here again, you just use the liquid body/solid body concept.
 
When he pulls behind your knees, instead of trying some cool Guillotine or Inverted Iron Cross, simply go with his energy and pull your legs up toward your chest with all of your might as you fall to the ground while simultaneously and immediately going straight for the eyes with your hands by grabbing and using the head, or if necessary the ears as handles. In reality, you would gouge as deeply as humanly possible into his eyes with all of your might. But for training purposes, you are going to simply make sure you touch the eyes and/or gain head control. If the situation warranted it in a street attack, you would utilize head control to instantly torque his neck off.
 
By the way, you may fall on your side or your back, doesn't matter. Despite the fact that we do Dynamic Iron Palm (Slam Bag) Training and understand that extreme pressure or penetration into the eyes could effectively end the fight immediately, we don't ever rely on one "magic blow" whether we are standing or on the ground.
 
We are fully aware that gouging someone in the eye will cause them to fight like mad men if we don't turn their lights off or at least gain head control. They will literally buck and thrash like a wild animal, if for nothing else than to relieve the pressure.

[John Perkins tells the story in the book Attack Proof where he was being attacked by a monstrously string perp. and the only thing he could get free was his pinkie which he proceeded to
grind into his attacker's eye, driving him into convulsions.--Matt Kovsky]
 
That's fine because that's what we want. Why? Because all the time, we simply wanted to force him to free our legs, which we've been trying to free the entire time anyway, using our leg strength vs. his arm strength. From here, we will use our boots as sledgehammers and shredders in an extremely ballistic manner, using each and every part of his body as the target until we can get away or he's incapacitated.
 
One way or another, there will be no grappling. Period! If he decides to grab one of your legs while you are kicking (though he shouldn't have the strength to if you're moving correctly), use the concept of Shortening the Weapon, jack knife your body bringing one or both knees to your chest and then shoot them out, smashing his bones with your boot heels or scraping them off like putty, whether it's his arms or his skull. Same concept applies for single leg takedowns, makes no difference.
 
DESTROY, DON'T GRAPPLE

By the way, this move is really supposed to only happen when going to the ground is inevitable, which brings me to my next point. Sprawling is cool for the ring, but in a street fight we want to end the fight as soon as possible. If you have the space to sprawl, you would be better off avoiding entanglement and instead performing multiple, repeated drop strikes on him at full force. Believe me, he'll regret he ever fought you after that. The harder and faster he comes in, the more damaging the punishment.

[Remember, the whole point of grappling is CONTROL. This is a game that 2 must play at the very least and a dead end at worst. We don't want to engage our opponent any longer than necessary. Rather than suppressing his motion, react to his contact like he's covered in his own vomit. Evade, rip, tear, shred, gouge, bite, stomp, run away and go home...alive. --Matt Kovsky]
 
If you'd like to learn these concepts in depth and a whole lot more, the best way is to simply start training at a KCD school or at least purchase the book and videos. Because of the simplicity and the fact that this stuff frees your mind for real fighting, a person can train grappling for love or competitive purposes and still train these concepts for non-competitive situations.
 
A WORD ON "STREET SPARRING"

There are vital reasons why we don't spar. If we need to enter, we utilize John Perkins' version of WWII Combatives because its faster, easier to learn and provides far better protection than Western Boxing and all other variants of sport fighting. Ironically, this is beneficial whether you have the physical advantage or not.
 
This is not the stage of Roman Gladiatorial games where two men battled in front of 1,000s of spectators for the honor and glory of winning. We only care about surviving.
 
Sparring is for sport and doesn't simulate a real time, violent attack. If you are circling around someone on the streets as they do in a 23' x 23' ring, while using eye-hand coordination to strike your attacker with kicks and punches, it means you have enough distance to run. If that's not a possibility and you carry a concealed weapon, you have enough space and distance to draw your weapon and shoot your attacker in the head.
 
It's ridiculous to fight someone in a sparring manner if they have superior strength and reach, which is the reason why they have weight classes during these sporting events. You could take the absolute best welterweight in existence and put him against an untrained man the size of an offensive lineman and he'll get completely destroyed if he tries the methods taught in sportfighting.
 
Someone will argue that no system would work...well, therein lies the misunderstanding. This is the reason why we train to literally disfigure and destroy people with deadly strikes while utilizing the principles of the system as it is really the only way to overcome size, speed and strength in close quarters combat. Please do not ever let anyone give you the mistaken impression that those physical factors are not vital in a fight.  Fortunately however, at extremely high levels, you can achieve proficiency to the point that you don't have to permanently hurt people.
 
Now despite all of that, let me be clear about something else. The systems that advocate sparring usually have better athletes and better fighters than those who avoid physical contact or move from structured patterns. While KCD negates the physical advantages of the various sportive systems, those athletic individuals will most likely absorb the principles of KCD even faster than the non-athletic. That's just the reality.
 
IT TAKES 2 TO CLINCH
 
Because we don't spar, which we view as any fighting where you are at a range when eye-hand coordination is the predominant factor, we need to once again think in terms of our Sphere of Influence. To exert your influence, you either allow the attacker to enter your sphere or you move your sphere into his. Otherwise there is no fight. Even though we operate primarily in clinch range, the difference is that we rely on body unitized momentum and sensitivity to strike vital targets at any angle in relation to our sphere instead of relying on clamping strength to control.
 
The clinch range for Jiu Jitsu employs the same method of strategizing for positional dominance as ground grappling, but is performed while standing. The idea is to place the opponent into a position where his ability to defend strikes, takedowns, throws or submissions are greatly compromised.
 
Though this is not a comprehensive description of every possible clinch, the primary clinch and transition you see in MMA and even some street fighting is the over-under clinch in which both parties pummel to get to the double-under hooks position (chest to chest body lock). Over and under simply describes the position of their arms in relation to one another. For example, in the over-under, one of your arms would be over one of the opponent's arms. Your other arm would be under the opponent's other arm and around his back. Your head would be positioned on the same side as his over hooked arm.
 
Most fighters, skilled or not, do not yield in this range. Very often, you'll see both parties attempting to strike each other from the clinching position, even if they don't have positional superiority. The strikes are usually weak and very ineffective because they sacrifice their dynamic balance and ability to maintain a fluid root by entangling themselves in one position and relying on their attacker's balance. They have no ability to create real space or movement, which is a necessity, especially if you lack short power. At the end of the day, a lot of times they are merely bumping into one another as they are trying to control and avoid by using attachment or pure strength.
 
In addition to leaving you entangled, clinching is highly inefficient as well as energy consuming because it involves sustained tension. Aside from that, it also leaves your eyes and throat completely exposed. You can't protect your head from a determined attacker by turning it sideways and placing it against the attacker's body either.
 
Cung Le, who I mentioned in the Attackproof FAQ, was the most dominant fighter in the history of San Shou. We recognized that he either developed a higher level of sensitivity throug a keen understanding of internal training concepts or through extraordinary natural ability. In many of his fights, as he and his opponent would clinch, he'd simpy utilize his sensitivity to feel the tension of his opponents, which he would immediately use as handles to throw or slam them to the ground. While this is the goal of San Shou Shuai Jiao, he is able to perform these movements in a much more effective manner than his opponents because of superior sensitivity.
 
Though we completely disagree with Cung Le's method of fighting since we oppose any form of entanglement for self defense purposes, it underscores an important point. Having just a little bit more sensitivity in any arena, whether it's competition or street, gives you a huge advantage over your opponent. In fact, grappling in and of itself develops a degree of sensitivity, however the responses that it programs are once again, inappropriate for self defense, though perfect for competition.

YOU CAN'T GRAPPLE A GHOST

When entering clinching range, you want to be almost undetectable, as if you are a ghost, you want to be completely unavailable to the attacker's strikes and grapples, yet completely unavoidable as you use dropping energy to inflict damage. This is the reason why Ki Chuan Do translated means, "Way of the Spirit Fist". Of course we are speaking figuratively, but that is the dichotomy that we are attempting to perfect when we train. Here's an elaboration on this method from newsletter #16 by Lt. Col. Al:
 
"Ghost Entry - as described by Musashi this is striking from the void in its truest form. Grand Master Perkins has in the past referred to this as "hitting people with your spirit" [this is wild]. With the ghost entry you simply want to get an impression of the other person's body. As I enter, I launch myself trying to remain as graceful [unitized] as possible and with the "lightest" of contact or "perception" [spatial awareness] of where they are in relation to my body I quickly move to a kill strike dropping and
penetrating on contact. If they adjust their position, no matter, "I adjust." I imagine myself moving like the wind and striking like lightning. The lightness of my contact whether physical or mental is based just as much on my perception of contact as well as what I actually feel. While this is very esoteric this is a totally learnable skill but it requires much practice."
   
"Once again as with many of the techniques I've described I know there are going to be those who will remain skeptical about this sort of thing, for those who have felt this you know exactly what I'm talking about! This movement when applied against you has an eerie feel to it because you think you know where the other person is coming from however you truly do not see the strike coming even when looking right at the person, and if dropping energy is applied to it, "fa-gedda-bout-it", it is the Ghost Fist
in its purest essence..."

At the chaos levels we are engaging in, the only way you can achieve this level of combativeness is by mastering the 5 Principles of Combat, with a special emphasis on the 5th, Freedom of Action. If you are deficient in even one of the 5 Primary Principles, you can never utilize any of them in high speed, high adrenaline motion in an effective manner. 
 
There are practically no other schools that teach these principles in a systematic and proper manner so that almost any dedicated student can absorb them without spending half of their lives (30+ years) in training. In fact, we don't know of any. However, and just so I'm clear, many schools speak the same language as us and we recognize that the majority of them will properly train  2 or even 3 of the principles.
 
The problem is that they often fail even with those because they'll train their minds for patterned movement or some other stylistic nonsense (i.e., static, pigeon toed footwork or even body hardening) to preserve lineage at the expense of effectiveness. Very often, they'll discover one or two principles and go on to stylize their entire system around these principles at the expense of others. To be clear on what I mean, I'll give several examples.
 
There are those who may have the ability to display a high degreee of speed or looseness in demos, but then won't have the sensitivity and freedom of action in their delivery systems to utilize it in a dynamic, non-choreographed environment where they have to use it while simultaneously attacking an actively resisting opponent.
 
Looseness as a seperate component is useless when applied without the other principles to combative motion. It is the manifestation of all the principles working together at once that makes your body pliable, yet and still extremely powerful.
 
Or perhaps, they have some Iron Palm training and have developed some degree of dropping energy, but they are unable to utilize it in a real fight from any angle because they haven't developed the looseness.
 
There are systems that will advocate the principles, but then will completely undermine them all by doing some absolutely ridiculous techniques that only the most athletic and coordinated could pull off if they get lucky.
 
More than likely however, they simply have no method of developing the principles, even though they may be consciously aware of them. So often you can go into a school and only the instructor/s can actually fight, while the students have no combat proficiency whatsoever. The goal of Guided Chaos is to take you to the level of mastery of these principles which will automatically give you the ability to filter out incorrect methods and evaluate your own training, regardless of system, style or body type.
 
Here's another take from Al on this matter:
 
"As for the internal arts, in truth they are by far superior in every way as far as body development in comparison to external arts. However, where people go wrong in many internal systems such as Tai Chi, Wing Chun and Ba Gua is that they forget about fighting and focus on flowing or the developed pattern movements as in Wing Chun, which restricts their freedom of action."
 
"I believe you need both and here is where KCD has an advantage over the internal systems. Many of their practitioners may develop good body unity and sensitivity but they never learn how to apply it in a real fight because they don't know how to transpose the skills into their fighting arsenal."
 
THE GREASE THAT MAKES ALL YOUR OTHER TRAINING WORK BETTER
 
In these newsletters, aside from a reference or two, I purposely avoided the discussion of weapons or multi attackers for two reasons.
 
1. Grappling/Clinching intrinsically sets one up to fail in these situations. However, the majority of their practitioners are aware of this. The wise among them will simply adapt KCD style movements for street defense and save the grappling for the ring. One is not better than the other, they simply serve two different purposes.
 
2. Even at best, regardless of what your skill level or training, these variables introduce elements that may not be survivable even under the best conditions. Period! However, because this system is built upon the principles of Freedom of Action and avoiding Entanglement, it automatically gives you your best chances for survival.
 
As stated before, to varying degrees the Guided Chaos portion can be utilized to enhance the movement of any system, even sport fighting and it already has. The difference lies in the fact that the tools we utilize are from WWII Combatives and end the fight as soon as possible because our focus is self defense. In closing, I'll leave you with a final email:
 
"Even in KCD, we are very careful [at least most of us are] about the assumptions that we make because it would be very easy for us to fall into the same trap as so many other schools. That is why we prescribe to principles as opposed to "this" technique or "that" technique because while techniques come and go, the principles apply to every style of fighting regardless of who you are."
 
"I try to emphasize that we are never satisfied with what we know and are constantly seeking new experiences in order to expand our knowledge base. This is why we still give folks the time of day even if we disagree with what they are doing if for no other reason than to know what "doesn't" work. As Thomas Edison once said, "...90% of genius is knowing what doesn't work." What he [Edison] doesn't tell you unless you study his numerous experiments is that for his most successful inventions, he failed thousands of experiments before developing the light bulb. When asked why he required so many experiments he replied something along the lines of "...well now I know 1,000 things that don't work..."
 
"Like Edison, we feel it is just as important to know the logical reasoning of why something does or doesn't work. However, we try to focus our energies on developing good purposeful habits which are rooted in the principles of combat. This is based on what actually happens and not what we would like to happen."
 
"This same attitude is something that I also believe truly separates KCD from other arts and is one of the reasons why we still continue to improve with time. We are not afraid to fail in class and challenge the validity of what we know and teach because we know there are no second chances on the street. The point is if we knew it all and we don't, we wouldn't need to train, because we would already have all the answers but the truth is that even in KCD we are only scratching the surface and have much to discover."

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Ken has a KCD training group in the Chicago area you may want to investigate.]
See: TRAINING GROUPS

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quarters combat and internal energy principles.
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