THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WWII COMBATIVES,
KCD CLOSE COMBAT, AND PURE GUIDED CHAOS

I have received some questions from a few individuals concerning the use of
internal energy with the close combat type movements we use.

Before I get into that I want to state that all of the principles of KCD are used even
in the more external applications of strikes and movement. Upon observation of our video
clips and dvds a person who is not physically feeling the power and control that is being
employed against an attacker will, if they are not able to discern the subtle visual
differences, think that it is simple close combatives which are used. In the case of
beginners in KCD he would be close to the truth.

In the first months of training in KCD I prefer to teach a method of military type
combatives which is close to WW2 style technique. In the very beginning of training the
largest difference in KCD combatives and the WW2 type is that I prefer to teach the
student to keep his drop step going downward while striking forward. The forward movement
is not done as a charge straight into an enemy. This is because if there is a mis-step
or missed strike the fact is that all of the energy will keep the combatives practitioner
going forward and possibly cause him to over step and lose balance, thus sucumbing to a
knee or ankle take down, or if the bad guy is savvy he could fake an attack and simply
step off line at high speed and cause the over-reaching defender to stumble or worse.
Charles Nelson used just such a tactic against an incoming high speed attacker. He taught
to just step off line while using one hand to deflect the incoming attacker/defender's
hand while striking to vital head and neck targets as the person passed.

Here is where sensitivity, timing, coordination, power and balance all come into play.
Simply just stepping to a new point and striking is good but if you have developed all of
the above attributes to a high degree you will deflect and strike with far more
authority. For this it is advantageous to have sensitivity as you touch your attacker
either lightly or heavily you will know where his balance point is and be able to
redirect as well as damage him. You will be able to turn on a dime to allow you to follow
the attacker to whatever position he goes, thus allowing follow up strikes etc. which
will be more effective than those which are thrown with regular balance without sensing
the subtle high speed changes that occur.

Yes, soley practicing WW2 combatives with a competent instructor should be more than
enough for most self defense applications. Practicing them for a long time will make you
better at it. In my opinion the majority of martial arts fall short by a long shot when
it comes to pratical self defense in comparison to WW2 methodology. The copies of WW2
which use various foreign names or acronyms should stick with what worked. Attacking the
attacker is a good stategy and should be intensly practiced for a long time under various
conditions. All too often some well meaning instructor will look at a video and feel that
this is enough. I strongly suggest that a person should seek a tried and true combatives
instructor who can demonstrate serious ability utilizing  uncooperative practice. Simply
going by the numbers does not work in the real world.

Getting back to sensitivity, balance etc. Obviously the person who has better balance
will be able to deliver better blows against an adversary. Visual and physical
sensitivity will be better helped if there is better balance. Power comes from balance
and dropping. Simply twisting your body into the strike is better performed when you have
more balance. Imagine twisting combined with dropping force (see our book) while striking. Imagine being
able to do it by feel alone.

Outwardly KCD combatives looks like regular combatives to a large degree but it feels
quite different and it has greater potential for delivering results.

It does, however, take more time to develop than basic military combatives but, why not try it if
you have the time to delve into the deeper levels.

What you learn will not be diminished by the adrenaline rush that is talked about so
much. If you are attacked by a dog in the dark and you feel the dog against your body do
you simply freeze and let it bite you or do you feel the dog against your leg or other
body part and respond rapidly moving away and strking or kicking? Imagine if you
practiced hitting and kicking from all different directions with power and balance over
and over again. Do you think that you will simply freeze? I have seen many street
altercations, some including dogs, and seen first hand that the majority of kids and even
older people are able to move quickly kicking and striking and even screaming. Do you feel
that if you are attacked by a human that you will stand stock still? Yes you may not have
fine motor control but you do not have to move like a stiff robot either. If you have
developed your balance and you slip you will more than likely deal with the ensuing
landing or catching of your balance better. This comes about without thinking. There are
many things a human can do without conscious thinking. Just avoiding a serious car
accident is often aided by basic skills learned while driving. Steering, hitting the
brake etc. Hitting an attacker can be the same. Learning to move out of the way of an
attacker by sight or feel works the same way.

If you wish, just get the time to come to a seminar and feel the difference. Yes there
are some people who may not have the intrinsic mental or physical ability to understand
the difference but the vast majority will and do.

Pure, internal Guided Chaos is another matter altogether. It does require a longer time to be
effective and in the case of most of our military and LEO students who go into harm's way,
Guided Chaos works and works well.

I thank you all for your study of Guided Chaos principles and must state that the majority of
emails that I receive shows me that most of you out there get it.

Yours, John Perkins

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