Geoff Thompson's "Animal Day" video review

[Thai Bri]

Geoff Thompson – Animal Day Part 1

Introduction

Geoff Thompson was a traditional martial artist who turned his attention to training for reality. He adapted his traditional methods to suit the streets, and had great success. Though he has now moved onto more artistic pursuits (recently winning a BAFTA for his short film “Brown Paper Bag”) his fighting works are preserved on video. This is the review of Animal Day, a synopsis of his best known training methodology. Details of this, and all other Geoff Thompson products, can be found on his web site www.geoffthompson.com

Basic Production Information

The video is 55 minutes in length and is reasonably well put together. Good editing that allows each different section to be introduced and explained. I did find that some of the camera work could have been better at times. Whilst the students were fighting it was obvious that the camera operative was on the mat with them. This gave the feeling that you were there also, but the close proximity to the fighters occasionally meant that you couldn’t clearly see what was going on. But this isn’t about learning particular fighting techniques. It is about how to use this revolutionary method of teaching, so the odd “out of focus” moment doesn’t really matter.

The Methodology

Geoff gives an introduction to the rationale behind Animal Day at the beginning. He outlines his theories on fear, and how to overcome it, and emphasizes that Animal Day is not just about improving fighting ability – it is a “character x-ray”, a means to finding out where your real strengths and weaknesses lie. This could have benefited by the use of a visual aid, as the multitude of different kinds of fear was a little hard to follow from a purely verbal input. There is also a section where the participants outline their feelings just prior to the event. They are afraid, and they are big enough to admit it.

Animal Day allows people to pressure test their skills in a very realistic environment. It is all about how to proceed in an ongoing fight, however. It does not include working from the Fence. In real encounters you would hope to finish the fight before it has begun with a pre-emptive strike. This video helps develop your “support system”, just in case you don’t manage take him out with the first blow.

Geoff designs the training in a way that takes people out of their favoured element. So Boxers have to grapple, grapplers have to kick etc. No one can predict what a real fight may bring and, since a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, Geoff aims to help us develop our weaknesses.

Initially he will control each session so that people fight in the same range as each other – both restricted to standing grappling, or both restricted to punching only etc. He even restricts fighters to one technique at times. Later he changes this and will restrict each fighter in different ways – a kicker fighting a grappler, or kicker fighting a boxer etc. Only at the end do the combatants go all out, with no restrictions on range. This is done with everyone else watching. He asks for volunteers, just to encourage people to willingly face their fears.

But even then his training is different from the norm. For example, Standing Grappling, Ground Grappling and Punching includes the use of elbows and head butts. He wants to make it real. Even biting and eye gouging are allowed, though the fighters merely touch the target areas as opposed to ripping them out. And most of the fighting is done full contact. This is pressure testing of the highest order. Boxing gloves are worn until the fighters hit the floor, then assistants come in and take the gloves off the fighters as and when they can.

You can see the students really going at each other. But there is no ego. After each confrontation great respect is shown to each other.

Lessons to be learned

Animal Day is a personal thing. Only a person going through it can really learn lessons about themselves – both as a fighter and as a human being. But there are generic lessons that may well apply to us all.

First this video is about psychological development, developing “mental muscle”. Adversity builds these qualities, and Animal Day easily provides enough adversity to do the job.
Second the techniques that work are not pretty. No spinning kicks, no shoulder throws, no wrist locks etc. Geoff says that it is the “scruffy” techniques that work, and he is right. This has been true in all the real fights I have seen, and it is true in this video also. I first realised this watching Royce Gracie in early UFCs. In the introduction he used beautiful technique, spinning his opponent all over the place. In the actual fights an untrained eye could be forgiven for thinking his fights were like schoolyard scraps. And how many times have we seen boxers in brawls outside the ring? Scruffy schoolyard stuff once again.

Third, the fights usually go to ground, and very quickly. Geoff aims to use the Fence to prevent this in real life but, of course, this is a support system development tool. Be prepared to roll.

Fourth, exceptional fitness is required. This training method was so close to reality that the combatants had all the accompanying adrenaline and fear. Their bodies ran out of gas quickly. Again, just like a real fight.

Fifth, Animal Day evidences what the best martial artists know already – that all martial arts work with the benefit of compliant partners. But, as Geoff says “pull the rug of compliancy from under the martial arts, and most of it doesn’t work.” This is one of the main stumbling blocks for millions of martial artists out there. They can’t face the possibility that there hard won dojo fighting skills may not transfer well to the streets, and they proceed through life failing to face the truth. Sometimes with disastrous results.

Conclusion

There is no need to take Geoff’s word for any of this. If you want to believe that your spinning kicks etc. will see you right in a real fight, then go right ahead.

Or you could put an Animal Day session on in your own club. They need strict supervision, and you would be advised to see the tape to see how it is done. But you would have the opportunity to find the truth. If you’re that sure of your wrist locks or whatever, you’ll be happy to put them to the test and prove Geoff wrong. But my prediction is that you will prove Geoff right, and your training and abilities will improve immeasurably.

Remember those personal lessons I spoke of? The ones where each person has to learn for themselves? Try some Animal Day training, push your boundaries and benefit from the lessons of adversity.