Following on from a thread in the Judo forum, what are the methods different dojos and different arts use to simulate 'combat realism' in the dojo? It would be interesting to see how the subject is approached differently. For example, our dojo has night exercises a few times a year. These are often of the escape and evade type, often in a wooded area after dark. In the last one, two of us had to go and map an area with the rest of the dojo following us. We had 20mins start. We did a quick map and then went to ground. After 30mins concealed up a bank under leaves you start to soak into your environment and your hearing becomes very attuned. I went out for a scout, made a foolish mistake and was spotted, chased by four people, caught, decked and my arms were tied behind back and my thumbs tied together with twine, I was then frog marched away. By now I was well and truely in character, my heart was beating like John Bonham on a drum solo and I was full of adrenaline. Although it was only an exercise, I exhauseted my self running accross uneven, overgrown ground, took a pretty realistic beating and was subjected to the humiliation of being bound up. All this taking place in the dark which added a 'spooky' factor to the whole proceedings. I learnt alot about myself, the mistakes in my stratergies and my limits from that night. Anyone else?
Most of my "realistic training" took place in the Marines, so I'll use some examples from their. 1. Exhaustion drills. Basically, you practice martial arts after hiking or running for 4+ miles. At this point, you are pure gross motor control, with no strength and no coordination. Since the "adrenalin dump" basically leaves you exhausted, learning to cope is supposed to help. 2. Terrain drills. Fancy name for full-contact mud fighting. No, not as kinky as it sounds. Basically, a number of marines are put in a mud pit, and told to play "king of the ring". Since grappling causes fewer injuries, most of the time grappling is used. The uncomfortable, messy terrain really throws off "orthodox" technique. Try holding a triangle choke while submerged in mud. 3. Playing "Linebacker". While football players are used to breaking through groups of resisting men, most martial artists aren't. The truth is that when confronted with multiple attackers, the best thing to do is run. However, when surrounded and intimidated, getting the strength to flee is tough. In order to prepare, either a wall or a circle is formed by people with kick shields. The practitioner has to bull their way through, punching and kicking, in order to get past the exercise. Since the kick shields cushion the blows, the "linebackers" are much harder to move, which simulates the "adrenalin painless" reaction. Those are a few from the top of my head. May you achieve Satori
I have in the past performed "Animal Day" drills (name taken from Geoff Thompson) These are drills performed at full contact with limited to no padding - sort of like an MMA bout but with a couple of differences: 1. biting allowed but "nip and let go" rather than try and take chunks - this is top raise awareness 2. Eye gouges are "touch only" and the eye gouged should be closed as it is classed as "lost" 3. Groin strikes permited You can mix this formula with legs vs arms, grappler vs legs etc.. to sharpen weak areas Now a lot of people will say "yeah, but we spar like that all the time", but you will find that this is not the case. Sparring is a skill sharpening exercise that is over rounds with people who (hopefully) share mutual respect and are not trying to kill each other. This is why boxers who are "good sparring partners" often get creamed in the ring (Glenn McCrory vs Lennox Lewis springs to mind) I shoudl add that those under 18 should not attempt the drill and be sure that everyone knows that it will hurt. And don't do them too often!
you should maybe read the "environmental training" post in the FMA section as well. I'm really into the idea of this sort of training, and environment certainly plays a big factor. A lot of schools/academies teach you to train in doorways and cramped environments, backed up against a wall, on the run, from the floor, in different lighting, on a slope. etc. multiple opponents is always a good way of mixing it up! it's interesting to me to see how people work this. there was a great (if a little short) article in martial arts illustrated about environmental training in the philipines. talking about training ankle deep in streams and the like. it probably stems from a love of training montages in chopsocky films for me but i find the whole subject really cool (not to mention practical).
