In one form or another the theme wanders from one martial art forum to another; styles, schools and instructors are praised or trashed depending on the rating the audience assigns them on the “reality” scale.

Here is briefly what the article is about:

• introduction - we have to agree on what we call "real world” combat -
  without that further ideas would hardly be met with understanding
• role of experience based training and some practical examples - I'm going to describe in more details a routine I designed and practice successfully with my students and which is a blend of improvised obstacle course with "embedded" sparring and biomechanical exercises
• role of psychological auto-suggestive training (it was always in arsenal of Russian athletes and elite military units)
• role of non-combative toughness training thru challenging/extreme sport and physical activities

Introduction, or Real, Unreal, and Too Real Fights

First thing before proceeding to particulars of specific training framework to get prepared to a "real fight" is to reach an agreement on the very concept of "reality" in this area.

Since non-sport fight directly (and, very often brutally, unwillingly and unexpectedly) affects one's physical and emotional well being it generates an avalanche of emotions. These emotions can be stronger (and last longer) than those experienced in sport events, including combative and, sometimes than that in other life threatening situations (car crash, fire, nature cataclysm, etc.).

This is because of humans being on the other side, not some impersonal combination of mechanical interactions and/or forces of nature and you (not any external aggregates or forces) to either perform effectively, decisively and bravely or failing by chickening out or fighting ineptly. Understandably, it's easier to be objective describing hurricane throwing rocks at your head than a hooligan punching with the same intensity.

So first "objective" differentiation in this highly subjective area can be along FACT / FORECAST / IMAGINATION axis:

- fights which actually took place and you either have first hand experience or the source describing them to you is reliable enough (or, at least, you know them well to filter heroic deeds added to the story post-factum);

- fights which did not happen but which scenarios seem realistic to you given your current environment and life style;

- fights with imaginary scenarios which did not happen and to which adjective "real" is actually applied to stress opponent’s strong motivation and training, usage of dangerous tactics/weapons, altogether making the situation "really" dangerous comparing to one's previous experiences.

Next, let's consider the following range of situations and personalities:

- an exchange of bumps between two college kids because of a girl can seem to be quite a real fight for them;

- so it is for a bar brawler which used to challenge newcomers to his den with verbose introductions and, if a day was good bulldoze them on the parking lot behind the bar;

- same for an NHB adept regarding his last prize fight;

- it is quite real for a prison inmate to assert himself in his brutal hierarchy or even fight for his life;

- even more so for a soldier in a hand-to-hand encounter is some jungles or on a mountain path (seems that nobody wants to experience Stalingrad anymore, which was more than all the above together plus terrible cold minus food and warm parkas).

You can add a whole variety to this range of situation / personalities and find what is your "realm" given your environment and life style. Note that most people tend to "promote" their realm up the range.

I don't believe there are universal tough guys which would perform adequately throughout the range.

Moreover, even an ability to listen to and comprehend "speakers" from different realms is (quite understandably) limited to those of yours and neighboring realms on this RISK / DANGER / BRUTALITY axis.

For example, an instructor of army hand-to-hand combat possessing first hand combat experience would most probably sound like a blood-thirsty maniac to a civilian self-defense class. What an experienced sport combat coach says may seem naive and softish to a guy whose toughness suddenly surged thru the roof after talking to his bro just returning from a correction facility.

So one should be either tolerant if really looking for information and trying to figure out what seems to be rational and applicable to him in what "speakers" from "remote" realms have to say or just quietly discard it because it would hardly be of use for at that moment (too early/too late on the path).

The goal of the said above was to continue with specific training ideas with those who are interested given that I specialize my training goals (the "reality fighting" aspect) along the outlines above as: about mid-range on the RISK / DANGER / BRUTALITY axis (meaning I'm not planning to get ready to fight in trenches of WWIII but neither I'm going fro example to give my cash away to a first mugger I may encounter at an ATM - never did in Russia and I see no reason why I should start in the US. As for the FACT / FORECAST / IMAGINATION I'm trying to be as rational as possible without trying to present or imagine myself and my students neither as cage fight stars nor frightened geeks trembling at a very prospect of a physical conflict.

Thru the history men's qualities were assessed by such integral characteristics as bravery and gallantry and I see no reason why we should belittle them by all gauging of our vulnerable souls and bodies with all those adrenaline test tubes. You can’t make rabbit to fight the wolves, but if you have a “sheep dog” inside – you can and you should if needed.

Practical Example Of Experience Based Dynamic Training

The suggested training framework is a combination of an obstacle course, biomechanical exercises, sparring and biomechanical exercises.

Setup

Is quite simple. You will need a regular set of training implements (target gloves, kick pads, training gun, knife and staff) plus a roll of bright tape or rope, 3-4 plastic cones, half a dozen tennis balls. It will take you and your partners 5-10 minutes to deploy. Sample setup can be: 4 ropes parallel to the ground and each other, separated by about 4 feet; some on the knee height, others on hip level, other – chest level. The cones placed here and there to mark zigzag trails.

Scenario

You will have to do 4-5 laps, each about 50 yards long, fast enough (sprinting on certain fragments can be introduced as well) either laterally to the ropes and crossing them frontally or moving forward parallel to the ropes and crossing them laterally. To cross the ropes you’ll have to decide on the run what is optimal – roll under, jump over, duck under, roll over. On each lap at one or two spots within inside lane you’ll encounter your opponents. On your approach the opponent having a stack of training implement can select:

· A training weapon to attack – then you have to disarm him and proceed

· Trying to get you mired in a clinch – you have to release yourself and proceed

· Presenting target gloves or striking or kicking – then you throw a 3-5 sets of punches or kicks

· Attacking bare hand – then (according to protocol you decided on) you either have a short fisticuffs sparring or shock-absorb the attack with the general idea to get around and proceed with as fast as possible and least possible effort

Challenges

Totally within 5-8 minutes you will do a few dozen falls and rolls, a hundred or so jumps, run about 200 feet, throw about 50 punches and kicks. You’ll have to quickly assess what a threat is ahead of your and switch from defense to attack and back. You’ll have to quickly transit from falls and rolls to defenses and attacks and back to obstacle negotiation. All that should be done in as effective and seamless manner as possible because it may become hard (and sooner than expected) to lift your hands to defend yourself or make those led heavy legs to jump over the rope.

Analysis

You’ll have a chance to quantify your combat attributes in a varying but generally reproducible environment. You can discuss how you performed with your “opponents” afterwards – they see and feel it from a different angle giving them more chances for objective observations.

On the first lap you’ll probably notice a tendency to use technicalities, to look cool; on the second the “ornaments” start to go, somewhere between the 2nd and 3d the “flow” can take place, you are not worried by how you look, no internal dialogues, pure, efficient movement; on the fourth lap the gaps in your preparation may really start to show up (it can be either or combination of: lack of general physical preparedness; not managing emotional stress well enough – the opponents seem to attack nasty, “unfair” comparing to the start, the coach with all these inventions is of course, a pure evil, and all the assortment of symptoms of the downward performance spiral). If this is a case, it’s a valuable opportunity to experience un-spiraling up, since objectively all the circumstances are the same. On the fifth lap (plus-minus, depending on your level) it’s an exercise for will – the falls are really bumpy; the only chance to grasp breath before a set of jumps is … to shock absorb a bunch of punches “resting” meanwhile. The only way out is to keep moving; the assumption is you set a number of laps for yourself at the beginning and don’t change it by the way – if you train for “reality” it’s not up to you to clap the mat.

How does it help you to get prepared for “reality”?

1) It gives you a chance to see how you would most probably perform under stress. A “real” fight nowadays (all those conditional definitions of “reality” from the Introduction apply) will most probably last shorter than the whole exercise above since it’s not a XIII century battle. Say, one lap is (as for physical effort) closer to a street fight. In reality other factors will take care of stripping your performance, so how you can reproducibly perform somewhere on the 4th lap will give you a right picture.

2) It will help you to identify your gaps. May be you need a reset from moving to throwing punches – the luxury “reality” may deny; may be you find out your rolls and falls are too bumpy when obstructed by simple obstacles or initiated by inflicted punches or trips; may be your position on the ground after the fall is not defendable or you can’t get on your feet fast. May be when robbed of power by 3-4 laps you can’t actually get from a clinch, relying on brutal force only and getting stuck if none left.

3) It takes you away from a stereotype eventually acquired in the dojo where for years a fight for you was most probably something like staying face-to-face across an opponent on a 5-6 feet spot (OK, the whole ring on big occasions). In reality the fight is a “pulsating” (in time, density and space) event.

4) All the moves which you normally perform as standalone exercises (rolls, falls, jumps) are put in a “combat” context. May be that will be the first time when you try to get out of being attacked by rolling under an obstacle!

5) I can say for myself that “experience” wise there is certainly a big deal of what resembles actual encounters and my students testify the same. Those of them lucky enough not to get into a “real” fights say that it’s certainly a new experience comparing to “just” sparring. Anyway, it does not hurt to try, give it a try and let me know what you think.

Variations

Finally, to make things more interesting, my students can be pretty much sure that there will be surprises comparing to the general protocol and previous runs. One time an improvised weapon can suddenly appear among the regular set. They can find out there are 2 attackers where presumably they should meet just one. On the spot where they used to land safely after a roll a bunch of tennis balls (simulating unexpected obstructions) making them to quickly adapt the roll. They can get under barrage of tennis balls while falling - enforcing the fall to be faster and “practical”. Does not matter what kind of surprise, the main idea is one should be ready for something not to go as planned.

On Psychological Preparedness To A "real" fight

Once one

1) realized what is his "range" of potential combat encounters

(without Agent 007 fantasies on one side and pacifist illusions on another)

2) established an experience based training framework honing mobility,

adaptability and all spectrum of other combat specific physical preparedness aspects

the next step (or, rather, continuously working on yourself) is to hone psychological preparedness to physical confrontation. In other words, making sure that all the years of physical training were not a self-delusion activity making you say "A" (stepping into a fight) and failing to say "B" (instead of applying your skills to get paralyzed by fear, unable neither to bail out gracefully or defend yourself and those

you are responsible for).

I'd like to share list of sources which helped me to form my personal "foundation".

Some of them are "combative" in a narrow sense, whereas others address universal topics of human resilience, toughness, adaptability and managing own inner world under variety of conditions.

1) The Warrior Within: Accessing the Knight in the Male Psyche

by Robert L. Moore, Douglas Gillette

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688095925/qid=1077899568/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-7552689-4471338?v=glance&s=books

2) King, Warrior, Magician, Lover : Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine

by Robert Moore

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0062506064/qid=1077899180/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7552689-4471338?v=glance&s=books

3) Fire from Within

an other books by Carlos Castaneda

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671732501/qid=1077903439/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/102-7552689-4471338?v=glance&s=books

4) The Silva Mind Control Method

by Jose Silva

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671739891/qid=1077899051/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7552689-4471338?v=glance&s=books

5) Prometheus Rising

by Robert Anton Wilson

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1561840564/ref=pd_sim_books_1/102-7552689-4471338?v=glance&s=books

6) The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest

by Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312965338/102-7552689-4471338?%5Fencoding=UTF8

7) K2, The Savage Mountain

by Charles H. Houston, Robert H. Bates

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1585740136/qid=1077899501/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7552689-4471338?v=glance&s=books

In Russian:

-------------

8) The Fight, As It Is

by Gennady Parkin

http://shotokan.bos.ru/draka.htm

9) The Man - The Weapon

by V. Shlahter

http://www.miroslavie.ru/optimalist/or.htm

10) The Combat Machine

by Anatoly Taras

http://www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/85694/?partner=Ravis

When dwelling into a complex matter of human behavior in situations of physical confrontation it is very easy to slip into a home-grown parody to psychoanalysis. Nevertheless, everybody involved in martial arts training contemplates on the subject. These discussions are often tinged with doubts. This is quite understandable in our times – there are no more "tribal" warrior initiation rituals (see 1-2), "civilized" world geopolitics conveniently "removed" wars to distant regions, and the task of defending of civilians is delegated to professional police and army.

So if even Japanese samurai started to doubt their combat readiness during about 250+ years of relative peace of the Edo Period (occasionally dueling and participating in smaller clashes) we have all the reasons for critical thoughts about actual output of our training to ability to defense ourselves in "real" world. However, critical does not necessary means hopelessness and negativism.

Let's discuss it basing on common sense, simple facts and known sources. Firstly, let’s state that for every men there exist values beyond life and death. If one allows to stomp on them, he would not be able to live with it afterward anyway, so it makes sense to fight for these values disregarding immediate risks and consequences.

It does not matter what is the concrete context of these values - they may not be even nearly understood by others (for example political and religious ideals), but (almost) everybody understands concepts of self-respect, physical and emotional safety of the loved ones, etc.

Second, if one speaks about "real" fight he should realize that death is one of quite possible outcomes. Whatever is your cultural and spiritual background, some Eastern/Zen/samurai texts or Western adaptations like Carlos Castaneda's books on Mexican Indians spiritual practices (3) - they clearly deliver the idea of getting aware of death being always "behind warrior's shoulders".

And, it's not at all a pessimistic, pathetic concept - quite an opposite, it promotes an idea of living full throttle every moment of live granted to you. And, what follows dying gracefully when it's time, does not matter how long or short the life happened to be, and how much else you planned to do and experience.

If you prefer a more intellectual presentation of the same idea (5): a human can be modeled as a programmable bio-robot with a number of increasingly sophisticated protocols, or programming circuits, wrapping and building on top of underlying circuits.

The first circuit instructs a living creature to get as close to safety and food (and as far from danger and hunger), the "In", feminine circuit. The second governs a drive to expand your area and move up in the hierarchy in the pack/tribe. This one is the "Yan", masculine circuit, eventually making your risk your physical well being whenever an opportunity of advance presents itself (yet, still to retrieve when facing those higher in the hierarchy).

These two circuits humans share with animals. But if you get a bunch of lions, place them in entrenchments under the shell fire they would run away in a complete disorder and be killed. So much of the proud king of the animals. Only two most social animals (horses and dogs) can be trained to withstand such conditions together with people and assist them in fighting, in spite of not being predators at all or not the strongest predators.

A human though can program himself (or being programmed) through the upper circuits to override lower ones to not only withstand the shell fire but even counter attack with "Banzai" battle cry in different languages - because some creepy midget told them so from a high tribune (an emperor, duce, fuehrer or secretary general)!

There are all the reasons to believe that one possesses enough motivation and can develop psychological tools to program oneself to fight for his and love ones well being when really needed. Why not to become your own, ultimately loyal and skilful samurai?

(Of course, there always exist a possibility of the 2 lower circuits to step in, but generally, you can develop your own operating system to be robust enough for majority of "real" situations).

Ok, this is overall philosophy, your thinking, reading, communication with other people and your spiritual / psychological practices will shape it with time.

Now, about specific psychological frameworks to sharpen moral and self-confidence needed to fight effectively.

All of them are proven, simple to understand and apply, given some will and persistence. Independently of the origin they implement in one form or another the idea of self-suggestive training with a goal of being able to quickly invoke (by a "code" word or image) a state of increased perception to packages of commands issued to and by yourself. See for example Jose Silva's mind control methods (4).

First you learn to control simple reactions like feeling of warmth and heaviness in arms and legs, slowing breathing and heartbeat. Then, you learn to formulate short, concrete and positive verbal commands. On the contrast, in the "visual" program circuit your learn to create on your internal screen as sharp and expressive images of the desired outcome as possible.

The relative “bandwidth” of brain’s left and right parts is about 100 (left, logical) to a few millions (right, image processing, imagination) units of information per second. So feeding (mostly the left part) with short, concrete and positive verbal inputs, and the right part – with rich 3D images during the self-suggestive training effectively re-balances one’s brain. The direction is from regular for our time left part domination to “combat” mode with predominantly right part high throughout processing. In other words instead of average minimum 320 ms of logical left part processing you rely on fast 60 ms overage integral, intuitive processing by the right part.

You test "invocation" of the increased performance state first in less stressful situations (exam, difficult conversation), then - in more dynamic cases (sport completion/fight) or variety of extreme or close-to-extreme sports with “cross the line” tests like diving, skydiving, etc.

You can perceive, depending of the venue and parameters taken, 10, 50 and even 100% increase of performance. In other cases you metrics can be an ability to quickly grab hold on your nerves and do what seemed too risky before practicing such a training.

That asserts to you that you can really rely on your elf-suggestive programming in situations including life-threatening.

An example of self-suggestive training intended for speed improvement for martial arts can be found in "Speed Training" by Loren Christiansen.

Below I'd like to suggest a free translation of a session from (9) called "Ancestors And Descendants ". It relies on the technique known for thousands of years to shamans and all kinds of “ministers of propaganda” responsible for getting the tribe’s warriors into battle mode. The technique is “merging” with some kind of absolute, perfect combat “idols”. But instead of reincarnating separated by space, time and culture Musashi’s or next century Cyborgs you’ll appeal to closer authorities - your own warrior ancestors, soldiers in your genealogical tree. There were apparently good in battle and agile in life if you exist in this world; their skills and spirit are genetically yours and in this session you are being immersed into their world; as they had not failed you, now you are making impossible for yourself to fail your descendants.

So, imagine yourself in a huge hall, dark, lit with torches, seating and waiting. You can hear heavy footsteps and men are entering the gates – some of them in furs with heavy clubs and spears; others – in medieval armor, with swords and longbows; you can see a guard from Napoleonic wars times armed with a rifle and bayonet; a Great War officer with grenades and revolver. All of them are strong, brave, and furious in the battle. You feel unity with them. Now another group enters the hall – these are you descendants. You don’t know their futuristic weaponry, but you can see they are too strong and proud men. Now, for a second imaging a bunch of miserable cowards. It depends on you who will actually be your descendants – these pitiful losers or the previous group. You are a link in the chain…”

I realize that one can find such visualizations too romantic but somehow that helps me. If you prefer to meditate observing a dot on the wall or your own navel – as long as it helps you to pass through “I can’t” tests – that’s all right. The main thing to impose from time to time such experiences on yourself, not necessarily combative and feel what of your psychological training indeed worked.