Review by & host Ville Kaivonen

Lee Morrison held his first ever Urban Combatives seminar in Finland on the 13th of December. I had the honor of hosting and organizing the event. Following is a short review of the seminar written by yours truly. The seminar covered the basics of Urban Combatives: the game plan, basic tools and then drills to drive those basics home. Afterwards we covered some counter-grappling as well. I am not going to delve too deeply into the physical materials, I am pretty sure that if you are reading this you are already familiar with them and if not there is no way I can convey them via writing form so go and buy the damn DVD's yourself. But just to sum it up basic attacks like palm strike, elbows and knees were covered and emphasis was on delivering those attacks with intent and aggression, not about what angle your thumb should be in.

Overall the physical side is basic and gross-motor in nature as it should be. The truth is that in a physical confrontation less is usually more and all instructors worth their salt agree on stuff that works and UC delivers on this front for sure. What is worth mentioning is the drills that drive these basics home and to a degree simulate the "chaos factor" that is present in a real confrontation. One example was a drill where the student was suddenly shoved to a wall by a partner holding a pad. The student was then to immediately proceed to attack the pad aggressively and then another person came at the student, hitting him with focus mitts with full force.

As the student shields him/herself from the blows they are again met with similar impact from a second accomplice and so the drill continues until both subjects are floored and escape is made. This excellent drill was designed to provide a degree of inoculation to the dynamic moving struggle that any fight represents, that for sure simulated the random events of a fight and how to react to them immediately. Chances are that if you are familiar with reality based systems you understand that full force contact is a necessary part of the training. It conditions our bodies and mentally also prepares us to deal with contact and pain. During Lee's drills this was surely achieved but it was done in a very safety conscious way to avoid injuries.

Another important element in the training was the mental part. In addition to the usual awareness and avoidance and fear management Lee also talked about the combative state of mind. The achieving of combative state of mind, aggression manipulation etc. pretty familiar stuff to many I am sure but it was the way this information was handled that impressed me the most. 

I know that many systems dwell on this matter but it was good to see that in Lee's case it was not just covered in a few sentences but actually emphasized. In a violent confrontation state of mind makes all the difference. Some systems take the aggression training too far in my opinion but Lee has definitely found a way to deliver that crucial part in a very logical and sensible manner. It wasn't about macho bravado or "warrior spirit" crap; it was about finding within you what it takes to get the job done ASAP. So overall the seminar was excellent in terms of materials and training done. I am an instructor myself and this time I was stuck with the duty of taping the event instead of participating. In hindsight, this was a blessing. You see during seminars I do not just study what is being taught but also HOW it is being taught. I want to judge a seminar also by the way the information is delivered by the instructor and if possible, to learn from that and enhance my teaching skills as well.

Now it is in this arena that the seminar made to me the greatest impact. It is rare to see an instructor in our field who can deliver the package clearly and concisely and also in a way that is enthusiastic to the participants. I truly appreciate that the seminar was obviously very carefully thought out, it was delivered in concise packages of information and in a way that everyone actually was able to take stuff back home to add to their training.

To me this was by far the best "part" of the event. There are many people out there who are very good at what they do but are not very good at teaching. There are many who are good and what they do and also good at teaching it but they cannot do it in an energizing and enthusiastic manner. Then there are the few who can do it and deliver it and make people want to do it and enjoy the experience and clearly Lee Morrison belongs to this group. So if you are interested in how to prepare yourself against modern day violence I highly recommend Lee Morrison’s seminars. If you are an instructor yourself, I doubly recommend them.

Best regards,

Ville Kaivonen