Senshido's Defence Against Most Common Attacks - parts 1 and 2.

[Thai Bri]

Senshido –Defence Against Most Common Attacks, Parts 1 and 2.

Senshido is a fighting art from Richard Dimitri. He is based in Montreal, Canada, and has a web site on www.senshido.com Further information, as well as how to order, is available on the site.

Basic information

Defence Against Most Common Attacks is a two-tape set of a combined length of 2 hours and 35 minutes. Because of this I would recommend taking it a stage at a time. Dimitri’s usual spontaneous “just role the camera and lets do it” approach is in evidence once again but, possibly due to the length of the piece, he isn’t as funny as usual. It must have been a long haul making the long tapes. But this isn’t meant to be a comedy video of course. There are occasional full contact film sequences that demonstrate the moves (with a slow motion replay). These are useful, interesting and break the tapes up a little. He still does his little specialities, like telling his training partner what he is going to do, saying “don’t let me hit you”, but then getting the hit home anyway. And he also still has great real life experiences that illustrate his points.

He does not provide exact answers to the attacks featured. Rather he demonstrates how Senshido’s 5 Principles of Personal Protection can be applied. He does not like to repeat himself in each tape, as this would lead to the accusation that he is simply re-hashing his old material. This means that you have to do some research in order to find out what those 5 principles are. They are readily available for free on his site for those interested.

It is worth stressing that Senshido is, thankfully, not one of those “if he does this, you do that” arts. This is about reacting to the changing and fluid situation you are in. You don’t try to plan for an attack, there are just too many variables. You prepare for it by learning to improvise. You are not being given a fish, you are being taught how to catch fish, if you know what I mean.

The “Most Common Attacks”.

The attacks featured include the following:-

Shove (push)
Lapel grab (one and two handed version)
Tackles (i.e. takedown attempts)
Headlock (both standing and on the ground)
Mount
Bear hug from behind
Sucker punch

As you can see, some of these attacks would not be used by many trained people out there. So, ironically, if we never train them we never train to defend them. This gives the untrained fighter an advantage.
Scenario Based.

Many street fights begin after some kind of verbal build up. Dimitri trains using these build ups, making the training as real as possible. The added advantage is that you also learn how to use the opponent’s own thoughts and psychology against him. For example, the Shove. People who are working themselves up to violent action sometimes start to shove. An initial one is too feel you out and see your reaction. They may then shove again prior to a real attack. This often leads to a brawl in which both people fall to the floor in a heap. But you can also judge his state of mind by assessing him during this phase, and you can use both this and his movements against him. A simple example, he pushes forwards, you redirect his hands away from you; redirect your centre line away from his; and let his forward momentum increase the power of your initial strike.

Basic fighting style

Senshido have their own version of the “Passive Stance”, much like some of Geoff Thompson’s “Fence”. Owing to the protection it offers an attacker’s options are limited. This means that the same types of defensive movements can be applied across a wide range of incoming attacks. The tapes explain and demonstrate fully.

Their movement is always in response to the changing circumstances of a fight. They have no “if he does this you do that”, it is all spontaneous and unpredictable. Footwork takes them off the opponents centre line where possible, minimising the severity of the incoming attack. This is not a purely reactive art on the physical level though. They attack first if and when the occasion demands. They also develop their own version of tactile sensitivity. If a man has grabbed you, his movement can give you clues as to his intent. And Richard is “not crazy about kicking.”

Senshido also differentiate between different threat levels, so some options are available for an annoying drunk, with others for the potentially life threatening attacker.

This is one of their earlier products and it seems to me that one or two minor movements have now been left behind. For example I have seen Richard escape from the Mount in his Shredder tape, and in a way far superior to the one shown here. But, in the main, the tools and concepts shown are good and up to today’s high standards.

Realism

In my time I have seen many so called counters to, for example, the lapel grab. The so called attacker takes a polite, gentle hold and then stands there with a straight arm. Senshido play the scenarios with much more realism. Accompanying the dialogue are hard and forceful grabs, grabs that can take you off balance. The defender has to work to apply anything, just like real life. They give no quarter in the gym and don’t, therefore, expect any in the street. They also add a variety of factors to achieve realism; obstacles, multiple opponents, clothing etc. Even to the extent of training with a simulated injury.

Richard acknowledges that, for example, you should not let anyone grab you with a lapel grab in the first place. But rather than just leave it at that, he trains for that eventuality anyway. You can hardly say to a real threat “I shouldn’t have let you do that, can you let go please?”

And Senshido students playing the attacker must aim to hit. I’ve lost count of the amount of clubs I’ve been in where, if I’d chosen not to react to an “attack”, it wouldn’t have hit anyway. If I ever go to Senshido, I’ll be reacting like my teeth depended on it.

Attitude

This tape is about never giving up the fight. You carry on until you either “quit or die”. Or win of course. Psychological factors are uppermost. He acknowledges that even the time of day may be relevant, i.e. when are you at your best? Early afternoon or at 3am? Reading body language is a key skill, and tactical withdrawals are stressed also.

Conclusion

These tapes offer ideas that relate directly to the street. They help you work in a realistic way to face realistic, everyday attacks. Like I said, some of these would never be used by a trained fighter. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have to prepare for the untrained guy.

The tapes do not give you an A, B, C approach to training. They give you the ability to read and write for yourself.

I can strongly recommend these tapes to everyone interested in realistic self defence.