Despite the snow and terrible weather conditions we had a tremendous turn out for Lee Morrison’s fifth Irish seminar in Arklow on the 10th of January.
The seminar kicked off with an in-depth look at “threat recognition”. Whilst Lee has covered this topic at previous Irish seminars, this was the first time he has delved into extensive detail about how violent assaults manifest themselves. Here, we covered the three phases of any violent confrontation: before, during and after. As Lee explains, in order to have a solution to a problem, you must have a full understanding of the problem in the first place.
Good self protection skills are made up of “Personal security measures,” which are made possible by good awareness skills and an understanding of the modern enemy. Lee defines awareness as “a cumulative alertness to a potential threat, and an understanding of the environment with an understanding of any movement out of the ordinary that indicates any type of predatory behaviour”. Having a good awareness base will let you see how a threat develops and will hopefully give you an opportunity to avoid any conflict. After all it does not matter how good a fighter you are if you don’t see a threat coming in the first place. Some of following factors should be taken into account to aid in perceiving and avoiding violent confrontation: the use of deception, close range, weapons, multiple opponents and the environment. Where possible its always preferable to avoid any confrontation, as all consequences of violence are negative, as Lee explains.
After explaining the Urban Combatives “Game Plan” to the students, we went into some physical drills that put these tactics into play. This is great way for the students to really grasp the concepts through hands-on experience.
Urban Combatives Ireland - Lee Morrison Seminar January 2010
The second part of the seminar covered Combative skills. These are hard skills coupled with high probability strategies and tactics which are employed should we have no other choice but to go for a physical option. The first drill involved adopting “a fence” position for maximum situational control. As de-escalation is not an option for this particular drill, the student must strike pre-emptively, attach to the target and continue striking until there is no longer a threat.
Building on from this concept we then use a “contact management drill”. This hammers home the need for awareness and 360 degree observation skills, in order to see any secondary threats. This is always shown the wrong way first, where the student is waylaid by deceptive dialogue from the first contact, while the second contact will draw a knife and put it to the students throat from behind. This really reiterates the point that you have a high probability of having to deal with a secondary threat.
After this the student is given the “correct tools” to deal with the situation. The student is taught how to control the subject using a “fence” while moving around and looking for any other threat. If this secondary threat is spotted in time the student now has some options, as opposed to being blind sided and having to deal with the consequences which is the least desirable situation. After the threat (or threats) are dealt with, the student must keep a high level observation while managing “state”, as blind aggression is not good in any confrontation, and will only serve to impede your cognitive thought processes during the body’s adrenal response. Then the student must evaluate the area while scanning for any further threats.
The next set of drills focused on combative hard skills. The drills start on the high line (head) target area but then goes to the low line, as the subjects’ position and attitude change. This gets the students working for maximum impact and aggression, as well as assessing the target and the need to “branch” (the changing of physical tools when necessary to acquire an available target—for example, should the subject cover his head, you can then attack the low line which is now open).
This drill then escalates and is put into a scenario. Lee chose a common “ bar bump” situation. The subject becomes extremely hostile after you have bumped into him, or split his drink, etc. This scenario can play out several different ways. You may be able to “talk down the subject”. However, the most important thing the students learn from this type of scenario is to keep situational control and position themselves in a less vulnerable position (away from the secondary threat such as the aggressor’s friend).
Urban Combatives Ireland - Lee Morrison Seminar January 2010
The last phase of Lee’s seminar concentrated on “confined combatives” or ECQ range (extreme close quarters). The first thing that has to be said is that this would never be the ideal situation, as we are always looking to take a pre-emptive action. However, we must always have a contingency plan should things go wrong, as they often do in any “live situation”. These tactics are used in order to reverse the confrontational dynamics, thus putting us back in the driving seat. Here we are looking at our secondary tools and options: restricted striking, biting/gouging, ballistic manipulation, use of the environment and weapons of opportunity. The next set of five drills all involved the EQC skills we had previously covered, including recovering from being assaulted via an ambush, by using a default (or cover response), as well as in fight tangles, holds and grabs.
All in all the seminar was great success, and all that remains now is to thank Lee for taking the time to pop over from his busy schedule. And thanks to Pat and Killian for providing a great venue as well as food for everybody. Lastly, I’d like to thanks everyone who attended despite such terrible weather. Keep your eyes peeled as Lee will be back over soon!
For further training contact Rob Pepper at: rob[at]combativeskildare[dot]com