The Three Important Stages of Street Violence

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Street violence which can be directly related to the unlawful exercise of physical force is a reality which all of us live with on a daily basis. Training to protect oneself for street confrontations is very intense and quite different from training for competitions, even the No holds barred competitions that are very popular today. The Pavement arena is where there are no rules, where anything goes and where you can expect the unexpected.

The latest buzz word in the martial arts community is 'reality-based?' It is a police term, though never widely used in the law enforcement community, which refers to realistic Conflict Rehearsal training. The term 'reality-based' was brought to light thanks to one of the world's leading reality based instructors, Sergeant Jim Wagner. He defines reality-based as follows:

'Training and survival skills based on modern conflict situations that the practitioner is likely to encounter in their environment (their “reality”), in an accordance with the use-of-force continuum of that jurisdiction.' – Jim Wagner

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word reality/realism/realistic can be defined as: "Actually existing or occurring. Practise of things in their true nature and dealing with them as they are. Based on facts rather than ideals etc."

Your duty as a Street Self Defence Coach/instructor is to expose your students to what is real in today's world of street violence and to ensure that their training methods and techniques is on par with what is actually happening out there today i.e reality based.

In the reality-based world there are 3 main conflict stages that one is exposed to. Any violent or self defence situation can be divided into these important stages.

1 – Pre Conflict (before the fight)

Most situations can be avoided by ensuring one exposes oneself to pre conflict training. Pre conflict training consists of various factors such as: Threat assessment, situational awareness, hostile awareness, legal issues, verbal judo etc. Learning how to avoid confrontations physically, mentally and socially is imperative to any reality based self defence training. Besides the physical techniques and training methods one can incorporate to achieve these results it is just as important to expose oneself to case studies of various violent crimes to identify the pre conflict stage and methods of avoidance or minimal damage/injury.

2 – Conflict (the actual confrontation)

This is the part that most Self Defence and Martial Art schools focus on. The problem is that most of them are based on theory, rituals, tradition and set sequences or forms. Not one confrontation is the same and trying to memorize complex techniques for certain situations or attacks is going to get you killed or seriously injured. The conflict stage has social and asocial violence components which need specific attention such as gang attacks, the way criminals fight with weapons, carjacking, robberies, muggings etc. It is also important one is able to establish the difference between social and asocial violence and the amount of force you will be using to successfully defend yourself and your loved ones. The importance of getting the most effective results is directly related to the tools that are brought into action focussing on the most vulnerable targets that are available.

3 – Post Conflict (after the fight)

These are the actions you will take after the confrontation/fight. Again there are many factors involved here which needs to be addressed in ones reality based training such as first aid training, escaping methods, citizen's arrest methods, communication with the authorities, courtroom survival, attacker description and incident detail etc.

At JKD High Performance Street Fighting the focus is on reality based training methods and techniques which specifically focuses on modern conflict situations, and eliminating outdated techniques and training methods. No time is wasted on rituals, memorisation of complex techniques or forms but rather on resisting opponents and scenario training which will give the practitioner immediate results and feedback. Constant evolution and updating of ones potential enemies and the way you are preparing yourself to deal with them is essential if you want to survive the streets of today.

Defending yourself against the strangle

Most situations can be avoided by ensuring one exposes oneself to pre conflict training. In the following scenario the lady(Aileen) was unable to avoid the attack and is being attacked aggressively.

defence against strangle

It is clear that the attacker is serious about his intentions and that Aileen finds herself in an awkward situation. Being trapped against an obstacle which in this case is a wall at a public parkade ensures that the attacker achieves maximum leverage with his strangle. Aileen needs to injure her attacker as quick as possible to ensure that her body has sufficient oxygen to function productively.

defence against strangle

In this specific situation Aileen is able to drive her knee into her attackers groin creating an injury and a spinal reflex i.e. the attacker bends forward due to the injury and pain experienced.

defence against strangle

The situation requires Aileen to take her thumbs and drive it into her attackers eyes. Again due to the injury and pain experienced the attacker bends backwards.

defence against strangle

Due to the spinal reflex(bending backwards) Aileen is able to drive the attacker down to the ground where she positions herself in a domineering position.

defence against strangle

To be able to escape this aggressive attack Aileen drives her thumbs right into the opponents eye sockets creating immense pain and injury.

defence against strangle

Aileen is able to escape this attack and make her way to safety while leaving the attacker in pain, agony and a damaged ego.

Article written by Morne Swanepoel

Morné is a full time coach and practitioner and is certified as one of the most qualified Reality Based Personal Protection High Performance Mixed Martial Arts coaches in the world. Travelling countless times to International destinations in the past 15 years and featuring in almost every media medium across the globe the past couple of years, Morné has become one of the leading figures in realistic Martial Arts today.

The 2 mains streams of CombatCoaching.com are:

1- High Performance Street Fighting is a unique blend of Reality Based Personal Protection High Performance Mixed Martial Arts training methods, techniques and tactics preparing you to survive the streets of today.

2- High Performance Mixed Martial Arts will expose you to dynamic combat athletic training methods, techniques and tactics preparing you for the modern No Rules competitive arena.

Students of Morné Swanepoel’s Combat Coaching are coached as combat athletes. The focus is on Performance (Aliveness) orientated training in all the ranges of combat against a resisting opponent. Besides correct training, our students are also educated and encouraged to improve their performance, health and well being by supplementary training advice, correct use of nutritional supplements, positive thinking, healthy eating and sleeping (resting) patterns.

Morné emphasizes the importance of coaching his athletes instead of instructing them. Our staff are actively involved in the classes, training in an alive environment with fellow students as our focus is on Performance and not titles, hierarchy or rituals!

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. This idea is not new; Socrates had voiced the same thing 2000 years ago. If the quality of Performance or learning from experience is important, coaching is a must. If neither is, then tell if you must” - John Whitmore –

“No Rules Anything Goes Are You Ready” is a guiding principle at Morné Swanepoel’s Combat Coaching.

The most common reason for people studying the Martial Arts is to learn how to defend themselves and their families. Morné is a leading figure in the world when it comes to training to prepare oneself for an aggressive street assault. A full time coach and practitioner in Reality Based, functional Martial Arts. A Pioneer in Combat Athletics. Over 30 years of Martial Arts experience in various styles. Personal experience in the streets of South Africa. Training Special Forces and social groups forms part of Morné’s daily and weekly routine. Working as a professional doorman has ensured that Morné stays informed and is able to share functional and realistic training methods and techniques with his students and those who attend his hands on training seminars abroad. Experience in Tactical weapons and urban surveillance. Morné also forms part of a specialised Anti hijacking vehicle tracking response team in South Africa.

On the competitive scene i.e. High Performance Mixed Martial Arts, Morné is a full time coach in the Mixed Martial Arts. Pioneer in combat athletics. Morné has trained with and researched various Mixed Martial Arts professionals i.e. Burton Richardson, Baret Yoshida, Marcello Garcia, Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Matt Thornton, Leo Vieira, Rickson Gracie, Felipe Costa, Chris Haueter to name a few. Over 30 years of Martial Arts experience in various styles and noted as one of the world’s best Mixed Martial Arts coaches internationally.

Morné hosts and conducts international and National training seminars where people from all over the world come together for a cutting edge reality based high performance combat athletics training experience. Morné shares his knowledge and experience to anyone who wants to survive the streets of today. The demand for functional and realistic training is rapidly on the increase as more and more people are moving away from the traditional, classical forms of Martial Arts. Morné now has training groups worldwide in order to meet this demand and also offers long distance training programs, this has drawn enthusiasts from all over the world to train with him. Morné has also developed a dynamic in-service instructor program to ensure that Morné’s roll out plan to exposing more people to training in this High Performance combat athletic way.