The Ethos of Fit2FightUK

Jonathan Purton
Feb 21, 2019
4 min read

I've been thinking a lot recently about how to describe the system and what we do to martial artists and the general public. This is as good a place as any to get my thoughts out of my head and onto the page.

I'll break down the 3 facets of the system so you can understand how we're trying to make self defence and confrontation something that you can contextualise, understanding the story of the violent encounter and understanding what it takes to protect yourself in the 3 key areas: Situational, Emotional and Physical.

Speaking to Sensei Lee Iannoccaro (Son of JuJutsu Legend Tasshi Ross Iannoccaro) at a Ju Jutsu Kumite (Grappling Competition) we were discussing the idea around training for sport fighting. We came to the understanding that a lot of people who learn self defence don't actually want to hurt people. We can train to destroy and have the capacity to harness a certain mental strength that creates action in our moment of choice, yet never want to hurt anyone without reason.

Tony Blauer (Founder of the SPEAR system) says his directive when it comes to protecting himself and his family is "To defend my self and my family with as little violence as possible occurring to myself or my attacker". When we analyse this statement it actually means; I will do my best to Avoid danger, if that doesn't work I'll Defuse & Deescalate. The statement also gives permission to fight, to break bone and to kill if the situation deems it necessary. It's important that we start from a position of I don't want to hurt someone for no reason, as this gives us the best platform to threat discriminate, this is extremely important in our (3rd) fight against the legal system.

Situational: Bad things happen in obvious places, your situational awareness is key to keeping you out of trouble. As Coach Blauer says "Situational Awareness starts inside you" firstly you have to know if there is anything about you that makes you a target? That's from what your wearing (bling on show, wallet in your back pocket) and then your behaviour. Maybe you're body language is poor, or the opposite and you're acting in an egotistical provocative manner or something more common sense like having your phone out next to the exit door on public transport.

This knowing of yourself understanding how your behaviour links to making you a target links nicely into the next section.

Emotional: This can be summed up as how prepared are you for a potential violent encounter this includes topics such as Fear management, understanding of your own capacity in the moment, your motivations that fuel your will to defend yourself.

We need to answer some questions first; Why am I defending myself? What will happen if I do or don't defend myself? Can I defend myself?

These answers will come easier to some people than they will with others, the key is to make a statement, something that is personal to you, evokes a strong passionate response and present with you all the time. This statement is the fuel that ignites your action in your moment of choice. To fight or not to fight? Understand that your will to defend yourself is stronger than any technique.

We also need to understand that being prepared for the possibility of a physical encounter will help us defuse the situation, as we will be more able to manage our fear and enact our plan of action if we get to the next stage. It will also get us to our feet when we've been knocked down and give us the strength of will to scratch, bite and gouge that under normal circumstances we might not even think we're capable of.

Physical: This is what we actually do in response to the threat. Firstly though we need to understand that that threat comes from a story. Our situational awareness should make sure we're not actively seeking trouble and making steps to avoid being a target.

Yet with 3% of bad guys not deterred by these tactics, you might find yourself finding someone who just wants to hurt you and of course there is a chance you might be forced to defend someone else. Here is where we can start to contextualise what we're up against which is a long discussion that I have written about before: (https://fit2fightuk.wixsite.com/fit2fightuk/single-post/2018/03/12/A-Holistic-View-of-Self-Defence)

Essentially we have 6 key points we need to be prepared for:

1. Detection and Evasion of Danger.

2. Manipulation - There are people out there that will use no physical means to get us to a position where we are unable to defend ourselves. (This can be both physically and emotionally)

3. Intimidation - When a bad guy is talking to you. (Defusal & Deescalation) What's our best position in this moment.

4. Ambush - Attack without any discussion, from any angle, where does your physical action start? off balance - on the floor - in a bush? Are we trained to fight from these positions?

5. Multiple opponents - 40% of all violent encounters involve more than one aggressor, that might be at the start of the encounter or during. Therefore we need to train for the possibility of more than one person at any stage of our scenario.

6. Defence of others - Standing up for your safety, making the case for a safe choice for your group of friends or physically defending someone else who is incapable of doing so.

Of course we need to acknowledge the use of weapons and they can be added in to most of these scenarios.

Another chat I was having with a student that said, I'm not sure about practising an escape from a front headlock as I wouldn't be there because "I'd just smash him on the nose and run, job done!".

That's why understanding the story is so important.we need to look at possible "nil function" my favourite move hasn't worked! My "go to" in the heat of the moment didn't come off, we need to have access to more than one facet of skills (Situational Emotional - Striking, Trapping, Grappling, Throws, Groundwork). Your story (training scenario) very well may leave you in a "loss position". We need to test you in that position at an intensity level that is right for your grade to encourage Emotional Growth which feeds your Situational Awareness which in turn feed your Physical Growth and the cycle continues.