Making it Combative with Incidental strikes

 

If you want your system of Combatives to be just that; ‘’Combative’’ then once you come down to the core physical element, it makes sense that each and every movement that your body makes is as destructively efficient as possible; in order to deal with the threat ASAP. It also makes sense that you train your method right up to the extreme end of the threat scale in the form of a continuous ballistic attack with as much ‘’Vehemence’’ as you can muster. If you have the volume you can always turn it down to meet a less dangerous threat, but the same doesn’t work so well in reverse i.e. if you if you don’t have the volume to turn up in the first place.

 

One useful element that you can add towards this aim; is what Kelly MacCann refers to as ‘’Incidental strikes’’ (IS) this concept will make the delivery system of your attack a lot more functional. Typical examples of an (IS) can be seen in some of the following sequences.  

 

·         Wheeling elbows; here we can see the elbows employed as a wheeling attack very similar to the way John Styers; author of the
classic 1950's text Cold Steel would use it. Here the (IS) is an incidental Ax hand on the way through to the second follow up elbow
strike.

 

 

·         Angular strike; this might be a slap or if you prefer closed fists; a hook punch. Here the (IS) is a shot with the opposite hand on the way through, either a backhand slap/Ax hand or a hammer-fist. In this example the back slap is immediately followed by the forehand slap in combination for maximum effect. Performed in this way the back slap is thrown first followed by the forehand slap as one beat. In other words if you think of the back hand as one beat and the forehand as a second beat then it would look like this; one…two…instead of that the combination is thrown as one, two using an almost simultaneous action.  In this way the second strike gathers impact power from the momentum created by the first shot, for twice the effect.

 

·        Elbow to knee strike; here again why would you simply grab your opponent to pull him onto an knee after your elbow strike, when there is an perfect opportunity to strike as you rag him downward. In this case the (IS) is again, an Ax hand.

 

·         Thunderclap to head butt; from this double slap motion to the head, you are in an ideal position to pull him explosively onto a head butt. The (IS) here is to thumb the eyes just before the head goes in.

      

 

·         Elbow from Thai clinch; from here the (IS) is a little shot created by popping the head with the inside of the bicep. This rings his bells and lifts the head nicely, right into the trajectory of the elbow strike.

·        Nelson straight-arm bar; The wrist is grabbed and turned whilst simultaneously striking to the high line from here the arm-bar is applied. The (IS) in this example is a forearm smash to the ulna nerve on the back of the arm as the arm bar is applied.

  

·        Escort hold; here we are looking at the side come along position more common to door/security people. Here if the person complies then just walk him out.  If not then you have plenty of sneaky little options from here. (IS’s) include a painful pinch to triceps area as well as a well-placed wrench to the elbow joint as means to gain pain compliance.

 

·        Two hands shove; again good for security; use a two handed shove to get someone out the door, and if necessary insert an (IS) in the form of a cradle blow to the throat (using moderate force.) Here the strike is performed as part of the shove and is followed by bringing the hands straight back to a hands high fence; as you maintain a non-aggressive demeanour. Good for CCTV.

            

 

Basically any Combative method that you employ should be looking to aggravate the aggressor’s targets as efficiently as possible.  So don’t pull a limb by clothing when you can rag, pull and rip skin.  Don’t put in one strike if the path of trajectory offers you two on the half beat. Get the idea?  Understand that we are talking about worse case scenario events here and we are talking about Combatives not sport and not a reciprocal exchange of movement.

 

Peace out.