Warrior Spirit
by Danny Farlow
Too often too many times people get involved in martial arts training
and they are taught many techniques to defend them selves and many forms
and drills to practice. But there are few instructors who will take the
time to teach Warrior Spirit. Why don't they? It is because in my opinion
many don't know because they were never taught or belief that the fact
that they carry a large amount or rank can protect them. Now that statement
is only for those who read this and know that they are not what they say
they are. Let me explain further. Part of my responsibility is to ensure
that police officers develop survival skills that will allow them to survive
any encounter. I relate my position as a police officer to the days when
the marital arts were developed. Bottom line research shows that they
came from a need to survive both mentally and physically. Does the need
to teach survival skill to the police exist I say yes and should we offer
this to the general public I say yes again. But mostly the general public
is not willing to take the risk in developing the skills necessary to
survive. Police Officers like the military are the warriors of any country.
They from day to day night to night are faced with the fact that they
may not come home at EOW ( End of Watch). I have learned over the years
that it takes the dedication and time and lots of practice to get to a
very effective level of skill in some arts. In today's society the need
is there but we cannot expect tradition to work on our side as it did
in the past. Today our society is fast paced and there are many organizations
good ones and bad ones who have the secret to combat. They have developed
quick and effective methods of fighting, again some good and some really
bad.
To correctly develop the warrior spirit one must start with the correct
mental attitude. There is an old saying that martial arts are 99% mental
and 1 % physical (there is much truth to that statement). Through out
a series of articles we will address the correct development of the mind
to deal with combat. Lets start with the color code of awareness. This
is simply a way to visually see the world around you. These threats could
be physical or verbal.
The Color Code of Awareness
Condition White: You are unaware of your surroundings,
daydreaming ,your mind is on other things. You can easily get snuck up on
or surprised.
Condition Yellow:You have a heightened sense of
awareness you are able sense that something is wrong or are very aware of
your surroundings.
Condition Orange: You see or perceive the threat and start
formulating a plan to deal with the encounter.
Condition RED: Fight or Flight: There are only 3 ways to
deal with the threat:
- Verbally : you are able to talk the situation out to a safe resolve
- Physical: You are able to escape or had to fight using what ever mean necessary to win.
- Lethal Force : The encounter was that of your life was in jeopardy and there was no other choice but to use lethal force.
Condition Black: This condition surrounds all the others as it is panic. All of the training goes out the window and you panic you are frozen in place not able to respond you submit to the threat. Conditions white and black are very similar. A person can immediately go from one condition to another depending on the situation.
The color code area is defined by the 8 basic angles of attack now you may see this in an oval or other shape that is not important. But what is important is how you apply this to your training or everyday life. Can you survive will you see the threat or will you end up in conditions white or black and can you talk or fight your way out of the situation or are you ready to take a human life ? Remember apply this to your training because when it comes time to put it all into place
Danny Farlow is a Police Detective with 20 years of experience in Law enforcement. He is a black belt in American Kenpo Karate. He began his training in 1973 and is currently the lead Defense Tactics Instructor for the department he works for. He has taught at the college level on the use and application of combative and survival skills. He teaches numerous police related disciplines which include the Mechanics of Defensive Tactics and the Use of Force, PPCT (Pressure Point Control Tactics ) , ASP ( impact weapon ) Reactive Knife Defense, Hand gun Retention, Close Quarter Combat, Handcuffing and search techniques and ground fighting.
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