Martial Arts as War Part III

Okay, this is the blog post where I discussed I was going to go “Roman” on some stuff.

I’m sorry but it just has to be said because there are just too many things that are being said in the self-defense arena that are not just wrong but downright dangerous. Yeah, it may sound like good advice, but the truth is it is devoid of wisdom and even common sense and the people saying these things should know better and if they don’t then they should probably find something else to do.

At the end people can think and make of it what they want and that’s fine. It’s not my job to convince people of the truth but there are some fundamental truths that are non-negotiable, and people need to be aware that there is a mentality out there that is rooted in the spirit of fear. Even if the people saying these things mean well. Regardless their ignorance is not an excuse.

Oh, one more thing, if you disagree with me?

I don’t care.

If you get angry by what I say here?

I don’t care.

If you’re one of these people that are a part of the "turn tail and run first crowd" and teach people to just run at the sign of danger without considering escape may not be an option. You might as well stop reading now, I can assure you, it will not bless you.

A Little Background

I usually don’t talk like this because I’ve always tried to be low key about certain things because a lot of times there are certain things people discuss or reveal about themselves that are not relevant and just comes across as bragging or some BS "sea story."

Not this time.

So, I’m going to say this, in the US military contrary to what most people know not everyone who served in the military ever serves in combat. Not their fault mind you it’s just the way things shake out. Additionally, even people who go to combat or serve in a war not everyone sees actual combat nor participates in it.

Now, in the Marine Corps and the Navy one of the most prized awards you can receive is the Combat Action Ribbon or CAR as we call it. The reason is more than any other award it is the one awards that denotes you've actually been in direct combat action with the enemy where you have received and returned fire. Also, you can only receive one per campaign.

Most people are lucky if they ever receive even one. I’ve known people who served 20, 25, or 30 years in the Corps having never earned one. Not their fault it’s just the way things go down.

Now me... I’ve earned several in my career.

The reason why I’m saying what I’m saying is to establish the fact that when I say these things, I’m not speaking from the perspective of someone who has merely studied these things or who was some staff officer polishing a seat with my backside. But to provide the proper context as to why I say the things I say. My point is I’ve done the real thing.

Nor am I some guy who thinks because they know how to shoot a gun that they understand the difference between shooting on a range and combat. The same with real fights I’ve been in enough to know the difference between sport fight such as when I used to wrestle and throwing someone through a fucking window. Oh, we can have that discussion to.

Trust me there are some folks who can shoot like nobody’s business, and they are highly skilled with a gun, no doubt, no doubt.

Now, against the living…? In a real gun fight?

Different conversation... 

More importantly I’ve been in that space many times in my life, that space where you have a choice between action and inaction. Between life and death and I have no problem standing there if necessary. Like I’ve said in other posts it is how I choose to position myself in the world and if it’s my time then it’s my time. It is through this lens that I teach people.

The reason is simple it’s because context is everything. So, the reason for me providing such background information is to frame the things I’m going to discuss in this blog post in their proper context and to provide a level of moral certainty and perfect clarity, because much of what passes as good advice in self-defense is as useful as being told not to eat yellow snow.

As an editorial comment if you’re a self-defense instructor of any kind and you have a problem understanding what I’m saying here you really need to do some soul searching because the people you teach. If they are not already of that mindset are expecting you to help them attain that. And if you cannot even do it for yourself, unless they already have that in them, you sure as Hell cannot help them get there.

More importantly what kind of self-defense instructor would I be if I didn’t have the moral will to go to that place nor why should anyone listen to what I teach?

Makes sense to me.

Anyway, keep this in mind what I have just said above because I’m going to come back to this later on and you will understand why I went there. Because it is part of what I’m going to say later on to help guide people or at least offer an alternative way of thinking.

Say what!?!

Recently, I had a good discussion on the Facebook Group, Fight Science Analytica where I talked about the awful advice given by Jocko Willink regarding what he would do if faced with a potentially dangerous situation on the street.

Now, Jocko is no joke, and is about as tough as they come, which is the main reason why the advice he offered where he advocated multiple times in a podcast along with another former Special Operator, Tim Kennedy was so foolish. And that was no matter what in a possible confrontation just “run.” As I wrote,

“…does anyone really believe that Jocko Willink, a former Navy SEAL Commander with multiple combat tours, who fought in Ramadi in 2007, with the 1st Marine Division, would run away if faced with a real threat?

Really?

Come on…”

Like I said in my post I just can’t get there or get on board with this way of thinking, I don’t care who you are, and I definitely DO NOT agree!

This is exactly the attitude I was talking about in my last BLOG post “Martial Arts As War – Part I” and again, I understand what he’s trying to say and sure I agree that you have to pick and choose your battles, and yeah you know what, I’m not engaging in mindless battle with every nutcase or butthole that comes along either. I get it. But this is really bad, bad, bad advice.

Here’s the thing, what’s the point of learning self-defense if the answer to everything is to run away?

Even Jocko points out in his podcast, you don’t need to "be taught how to run away."

My questions are what if you can’t run?

What if the bad guy gives chase?

You are cornered or restricted by the environment and can’t escape?

If running is your plan, then it’s a terrible one if you haven’t figured out the answers to the questions above.

Think of it like this, if you had time to think about running as your plan, then you had time to think about fighting and if you don’t know how to fight… think about fighting first anyway. You can always deescalate your posture, but your mind needs to be there first!

What’s that saying?

“It is better to be a Warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”

The reason this expression is so profound is that a Warrior has a choice and can even suck at gardening, but the gardener doesn’t have the luxury to suck in battle.

What I’m saying here is, from the standpoint of your mindset, you can’t make those choices if your mind in not in the right place.

As I wrote in my response on Facebook,

“Also, let me tell you and make no mistake about what I’m saying here. I was an athlete for a good portion of my life and spent enough time in the Marine Corps to know that if you are not used to running “all out,” you’re not doing it for long.”

How does that work if you run, and your body is gassed, after the bad guy decided to give chase?

What if the bad guy is faster than you… because if that’s your plan?

You my friend are screwed!

Go on YouTube, you can see videos of people running and getting shot in the back, hacked with machete’s, stabbed with knives all while running away. They ran, and some of them died tired.

For those not familiar with a guy named Gavin de Becker, he wrote an excellent series of books based around what he called The Gift of Fear. One thing though and this is why context is important is in one of his books when discussing the horrific crime of rape and whether women should fight back. He didn’t say they shouldn’t he just said that he didn’t know what the best option is since it doesn’t seem to change the outcome. However, he got it all wrong.

The reason why the numbers don’t seem to change whether women fought back or not was because the ones who fought back were more likely to report it than those who didn’t. That’s why the number don’t seem to change. But what we will never know are how many women who fought back, fought off their attacker where they were either able to escape or run the perp off but never reported it.

As smart as de Becker is, I cannot believe he missed that. But it goes to show you that even some of the best in the business can lack the clarity or contextual understanding to offer sound advice.

Granted fighting under such circumstances may not guarantee a positive outcome, but I’ll say this if you fight back, you at least improve your odds, but if you don’t you guarantee the outcome, and it isn’t good—for you.

As I said in my response on at Fight Science, referring to what one of our Regimental Chaplains once said when he counseled a Marine who tried to kill himself,

“No matter how bad it is son, if you kill yourself one thing is for sure, you end your chances of it ever getting better.”

Using the logic that anything can happen, what if you are attacked with a weapon or the perp reaches to grab you as Jocko speaks to?

And even more important how does that happen in the first place?

So, some person you don’t know from Adam just walks up to you and without your permission puts his hands on you?

And…the answer is to run away?

Really?

Moral Certainty and Perfect Clarity

In Warrior Flow, we have several concepts we teach they are Moral Certainty and Perfect Clarity. But before I get into that I need to define them.

• Moral Certainty: The ability to sum up a situation and take action with near-perfect confidence, without thought or hesitation, or irrational fear, with little regard for the consequences to yourself.

Moral certainty is that deep seated feeling in body and mind that once you make the decision to fight there is no hesitation in your ability to "take action" since you know you’re in the right. Fighting for your life when attacked is always the right thing to do for at that point there are no options left. More important you have a right to protect your own life, something the run first crowd apparently seem to have no understanding of. The key is it is less about avoiding a fight or confrontation at all costs but instead focusing on fighting if and when you have to. 

• Perfect Clarity: the ability to see a thing clearly and unambiguously as it is for what it is without childish moral judgement and understand or as well as possible with absolute clarity what must be done.

This is that ability to take action based on what needs to be done in the movement without hesitation and without prejudice and doing what must be done. Period.

Here’s the deal, because I need to reiterate it, you and I have every right to defend ourselves and our loved ones, if the bad guys didn’t want their skulls bashed in then they should have chosen a different path in life. It’s not our job to fix their life.

Also, the notion that you or I should be worried about the consequences of getting in legal trouble for protecting our lives is just stupid. Should a woman who happens to injure or kill a man who was trying to rape her worry about the potential legal consequences after the fact?

At a time like that is that what you should be worried about?

Really?

Listen, if the bad guys aren’t worried about getting in trouble for harming you why should you be worried as a law-abiding citizen in harming them while in the process of protecting your life?

Understand that by them putting their hands on you without your permission or justification is a crime in and of itself.

So, let me get this straight, based on the run first logic, they get to break the law, but you and I are supposed to sit back and take it and risk bodily harm, or worse, because we can get in trouble at a later date over something that wasn’t our fault in the first place?

Really?

This run first mentality is just stupid. There’s no other way to describe it.

Just stupid…

Well, I guess I’m going to get in trouble with the law because that ain’t happening! No way Jose!

Listen my friends, the bad guys are not worried about getting sued, they’re not worried about jail, so when your life may depend on it neither should you because the alternative kind of sucks.

You and I, as human beings, as men and women, as Americans, have a right to protect ourselves. This is the essence of what the Second Amendment is all about. It’s not about the gun, for the gun is only a tool, it’s about the right to self-protection and just as important we also have the right to risk our own lives.

I’m not saying running is not an option, but it shouldn’t always be your first thought.

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

So, referring back to when I was discussing my background, I want you to think of something and I’ve said this to students before. We are all human and I’m not looking to get killed any more than the next guy, that is why you train. But at a certain point there has to be a place where you draw the line in the sand and understand that just as I and hundreds of millions of other human beings throughout history learned to fight, so can you.

Also, if you at some point arrived at the same conclusions about self-defense as I have, and we both understand and agree upon the same things. Then no matter your experiences as far as I’m concerned, your experience is just as valid as mine. The point is my experiences are my experiences and are contextual and more important than the experience is the lesson I learn from it otherwise it’s not useful.

The reason I say this is there are plenty of folks in the reality based martial arts with a lot of experience. Yet act is if you have never had their experiences or their level of skill then you can never be expected to fight well and prevail in a confrontation Friends, I’m going to tell you, any instructor with that attitude needs to be disregarded. If that’s the way they feel they really need to get out of the space because it’s obvious to me, they don’t know what they are doing.

Now in fairness, I’m not saying everyone can get there, trust me I get that I see it in the martial arts all-of-the-time. People with all the skill in the world but lack the mindset to be as effective as they could be. But I’ll say this if you are in a situation and you for whatever reason are not willing to take it there, and you trained in my school of fighting, the one thing you won’t say is that you were never trained well enough or were not skilled enough to do so. Of that there should be no doubt!

In Warrior Flow we are up front with people from day one and there is no ambiguity about what we teach, and why we teach what we teach, the way we teach it, and that’s kicking bad guys off the planet if necessary.

If that’s not for you, fair enough no hard feelings it just isn’t for you, and I get that. You see in my school of fighting, it’s not our job to convince people of the truth only to teach them what they need and want to know and know what works to win the damn fight! My point is we understand it’s not for everyone.

That’s why we are up front about that for it allows people to self-select themselves out before they get too far down the path. But my experience has taught me, just as we train people in the military from all walks of life to kill our enemies. You can get people to that place where they can stare into the heart of darkness, and should they choose to give battle no matter the risks and do so with the knowledge they have some measure of skill to tip the odds in their favor. Remember I’m just as human as the next guy and didn’t just roll out of bed one morning with this mindset.

As an aside, this by the way is one of the things that irks me with folks who deride the martial arts or think that people who do the martial arts have some secret gene to be able to participate in them. The irony is if they were willing to put the energy into it, they could have the same things. My observation is these people are just the typical fence sitters in life. All talk no action. But I digress.

At the end of the day every person has the right to risk their own life and it is not for me to make that decision for you. We are all human and you’re either trained or you are not.

In Warrior Flow we have a simple philosophy when is comes to this understanding.

“Real skill fosters competence and competence allows you to stand in that space between fear and courage known as confidence.”

If we were not possible to train people to get there, then no one would know anything about fighting for such skill would be unattainable.

A Little Reason

I want to just end and leave you with this understanding. If you had a plumber, come to your house to fix the sink you expect him to be able to do the job. The same for a mechanic for your car. You go to these people or call them because that’s what they do.

People go to a doctor when they are sick, they call the fire department when there is a fire, they call the police when they feel the need, but most people understand you can’t always count on them arriving in time. It’s just the way it is. But they call them anyway.

In medicine doctors take an oath to do no harm, in law enforcement they take an oath to uphold the law and preserve the peace, in the military we take an oath to defend the constitution and by extension the nation. Firemen have an obligation to fight fires and paramedics an obligation to treat people.

Now in the martial arts there really is no sort of oath if you will unless your system requires it. But here’s my thing, if you are a self-defense instructor, I don’t care what you teach, you need to be that thing you profess to be because that’s what you do. When a person comes to you, they come to you for help, they come to you because you offer a service to them that fulfills a need.

They do not come to you to be told to "run." Understand, part of the reason they came to you in the first place is because at least psychologically they are tired of running, they are tired of feeling afraid, a prisoner in their own body, a prisoner to fear. They know there is danger in the world, real danger that is why they ended up on your doorstep in the first place.

The last thing they need from you is to reinforce their fears or those feelings. Nor do they need you as a martial arts instructor to teach them to become helpless to become a victim. To become disempowered, emasculated. This is just wrong on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin yet I see it all the time and I’m telling you they make people worse off for it.

The idea that you or I or anyone should just turn tail and run is wrong no matter what, on every level and it should never be the first option for a person. It belies reality.

More importantly it is not the sort of thing that a martial arts instructor should be teaching people as if it is the only option available to them.

Just my thoughts and I’m sure there are going to be those who disagree. Not my problem, I just hope you don’t run into a situation where your moment of truth arrives, I somehow don’t see that ending well for you.

This is how I choose to position myself and where I choose to stand in the world and the foundational philosophy I teach from. Like I’ve said in previous posts, Warrior Flow is just a different vibe, a different thing.

Every person is going to have to decide for themselves but at the end of the day no one, including me, can tell you not to protect your own life nor risk it in such a situation. Only you can decide that.

Those of us who teach people to protect themselves have an obligation to put our best foot forward to give people the ability to do what must be done and the clarity to do so. We need to be the voice of reason and not infuse people with the spirit of fear.

The run first mentality has to die, such thinking is not just wrong it is disgraceful.

In my next blog post, I’ll follow up with what I believe are tips on how to develop moral certainty and perfect clarity.

Thanks.

LtCol Al Ridenhour, USMC (Ret)

Creator, Warrior Flow