Blue Wave Gym

I have known Michael Brewer for approximately four years. In that time, he has been a trainer for various US Special Operations units in subjects such as hand-to-hand combatives, marksmanship, small unit tactics and battle drills. More recently, he researched and developed a scenario-based training program to help prepare our deploying Special Operations tactical teams for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. The level of detail and realism in these programs earned Michael numerous commendations from his chain of command, and has given us a valuable tool to ensure that those soldiers we send abroad to fight terrorism will come back safely.

I would highly recommend Michael's training methods to any group which might need critical skills in the worst of conditions. His research is outstanding, and is exceeded only by his ability to get the information across and make it stick.

SFC Christopher Mennenga
US Army
Detachment NCOIC
324th Psychological Operations Company (Tactical)

Knowing what is useful starts with defining what you need. Too many people these days preach the Bruce Lee axiom of use [take] what is useful, disregard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own without ever putting much thought into what that really means. In a lot of cases, it's an excuse for not really examining the truth of things, and for just doing whatever one feels like doing that day.

I have trained a lot of people over the last fourteen years. Some have been civilian hobby martial artists, some have been professional NHB fighters, some have been cops, and some have been military. The first thing any of them do, however, is clearly define what the object of their training will be.

For military and law enforcement personnel, this is easy. Their chain of command lays it out in black and white, and everyone is on board, like it or don't [not]. But since I'm assuming most of the people reading this will be civilians, let's define our scope, shall we?

For the purposes of this article, I am going to make some assumptions. The first of these is that you are training in the martial arts as a means of effectively defending yourself or your loved ones against an attacker. I will also assume you are willing to train so as to fight effectively, and without moral inhibitions should an attack occur. I will also assume that martial arts is the path you've chosen to achieve this because it holds some personal appeal to you over some other, arguably more effective, means of combat (such as, say, shotgun and pistol classes). With these three assumptions in mind, we can clearly define our purpose. It is "I would like to train toward building effective and realistic fighting skill in the realm of street self-defense. I also want my training to be personally fulfilling without compromising its effectiveness." Sound about right? If so, let's move on.

Let's take the first part of our mission statement: "I would like to Train." This insinuates that we understand this will be a process, not an event. For that reason, the first phase in our development is gearing ourselves up for actual participation. This means conditioning the body and mind for more intense training. This is a universal concept, by the way, and it applies to any art, as will the rest of the ideas I am writing about. Street fights don't happen in any particular style, so I'm not going to worry about them here, either. We'll call our first phase "Preliminary Conditioning."

During this phase, you have two main responsibilities. They are:

Get your body in the best possible condition you can so that you can train realistically without being injured
Learn the fundamental tools in each of the ranges of combat. You don't need to be an expert, but you need to understand kicking, boxing, clinch, and grappling ranges. If you want my advice, it's a good idea to learn a few basic weapons as well.
Depending on the student, this can take anywhere from a week to two years or more. Remember, this isn't about rankings or certification. It's about effectiveness, and we'll do what it takes. If you're in great shape and you have a good background, maybe you're ready to move on right now. If you're a grossly overweight office worker who's never done anything physical, then be patient and take your time. But don't neglect the preparation! Once you've gotten to a level where the above criteria are met, move on to Phase Two.

In Phase Two, we are exploring the more ambiguous elements of fighting. Here's when sparring becomes the core of your training. By now, your body can take a little routine abuse, and you know enough about the tools not to be too afraid. Phase Two is all about being uncomfortable. You're pushing emotional and mental limits now, more than just physical. In this stage, you'll deal with your own hesitation, fatigue, fear, and anxiety. With the help of a good instructor, you'll overcome each in turn. Your sparring will teach you those intangibles like spatial relations and timing, and the psychology of fighting. You'll learn to read body language more effectively, and if your instructor trains you right, you will learn to finesse, rather than fight your way through. You'll look at all sorts of various scenarios you might encounter for real, such as knife wielding assailants, multiple attackers, confined spaces, uneven ground, etc. More, you should submerse yourself in it with the goal of being at least a little uncomfortable in every session. Once you get fairly comfortable with your adaptiveness and ability to work under pressure, you can move on to Phase Three.

In Phase Three, you begin to branch out from a purely combative art and begin to explore what you train with more freedom. There's no telling how long this takes. For me, it took a long, long time. In my case, I worked in lots of "hostile environments" where fighting was everyday business. I got into lots, and lots of fights. I won some, and I lost some. In a lot of cases, I wasn't really sure which. But one day after a particularly rowdy brawl with about twenty-some angry patrons and six fellow bouncers, I decided I'd just about gotten where I needed to be. I had been training for so long as though street fights were a life-or-death affair, that I had overestimated the vast majority of them and in my own head, made them far worse than they'd ever be.

I decided to back off from the "killer" training and have a little fun. For me, this was a time of realizing that, while serious, street fighting was not something I'd HAVE to face every day. At that time, I chose to, but that's different. In all those fights, I realized it was still the most basic, fundamental things that worked best. And beyond even that, my ability to stay calm and think while the other guy was all wound up and angry was even more important still. Content in the knowledge that I could fight as well as I'd probably ever need to, I allowed myself to explore some of the more "in-depth" parts of our training. I really started studying the history and development of martial arts styles and systems, and I began to really enjoy training with people outside my own circles. I'd trained with others before, but more or less to make sure they didn't have anything that could surprise me. These days, I do it just because I love discovering other arts, whether I end up using the material or not.

One can argue that there is more to functional training than what I've written here. Some argue that there's less. Some folks are totally content to stop at Phase Two. That's fine. Again, it's based on your own definition of what you're trying to achieve. To close this out, though, I am going to list a few universal truths I've discovered along the way:

Using the "Crawl, Walk, Run" method of instruction is a good thing. Learn the fundamentals, and then gradually add pressure to enhance realism. It works for virtually any skill in any setting.
Fighting is not complicated. It's simple. You can train forever to be better at it, but really, it doesn't take as much as some people think.
Personal motivation and the achievement of one's own goals is the only measure of success in the martial arts. Never mind rank. Just get where you're trying to go.
Performance and ability are the only real measure of a training method's worth. If the training method doesn't enhance these two things, scrap it. It's a waste of time.
Now, the above relate to realistic fighting skill, since that was our goal from the beginning. I know I'm not saying anything new, here. I also know that it's all true. I have trained US Special Operations soldiers to go and fight terrorists and insurgents with the same methods we looked at here. And no one from my teams has been killed yet. We all know at some level that there's no magic voodoo in the martial arts that can answer everything. Not grappling, not boxing, not even guns and knives. But I'll tell you this much: if you set a definite goal, work out a progression to get you there, and stick to it, you'll have the answer to most things you'll ever come across. You have my word on it.

Mike I knew you were psy-ops but didn't know you were SF what the heck?
So you're a green beret?

__________________
Tiens, voila du boudin,
voila du boudin,
voila du boudin
Pour les Alsaciens, les Suisses, et les Lorrains
Pour les Belges, il n'y en a plus,
pour les Belges, il n'y en a plus
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