C.Q.C. Basics : Primal S.O.B. Tactics

(This post by Wayne Roy - C.Q.C. and I.P. Consultant)

No it's not 'Son Of a Bitch' Tactics... but some people are going to think that about you when you use these close quater combat tactics. 

S.O.B. actually stands for : Sight ; Oxygen ; and Blood.  The acronym refers to the tactic of disrupting an opponent's attack by applying pressure to one or more of their body's vital functions :

• their sight 
• the flow of oxygen to their brain 
• and the flow of blood to their brain.

You can be fighting in any position (standing, sitting, or on the ground) - it doesn't matter - the moment you attack these vital functions it will trigger a psychological response in your opponent.  They will stop hitting you, and their hands will immediately go to your hands. 

It's a natural hard-wired response!  And because you know this is going to happen, you're ready to quickly release your pressure and launch a counter-offensive that will create an opportunity for you to escape :

• elbow strikes
• hand strikes
• knee strikes
• or kicks.

It really is that simple.  And I'm not referring to blinding them, or ripping their throat out. You don't actually need much force to trigger a 'survival' response that will stop them from trying to hit you.  For just a few seconds press as hard as you can against either :

• their eyes (sight)
• or their larynx (oxygen flow)
• or one or both carotid arteries (blood flow).

It's a bit like pressing hard on a button.  You press against your attacker's eyes, or you press on the flow of oxygen or blood to their brain.  And to survive they have to stop attacking you and deal with the attack on their vital functions.

It may seem like 'dirty tactics' to some people, but to me it's just a simple and effective psychological advantage.  

My thanks to Mark 'Six' James of Panther Protection Services for the photos :

http://www.pantherprotectionservices.com/

The Missing "F" Word.....

(This post by Hans van Beuge)

Fight or Flight. We have all heard that mantra before.  It’s a quick and catchy alliteration used to describe the autonomic nervous systems response to sudden danger.

Dr. Walter Canon, an American Professor of Physiology, coined the phrase back in 1929 to describe what happens when mammals are faced with sudden threats.

The only problem with Dr. Canon’s theory was that he left out another “F- word” in the autonomic response to fright. FREEZE.

Anyone who has experienced/studied/observed violence intuitively knows that we must include Flight, Freeze or Fight as being an additional reaction or part of the continuum, when sudden danger presents.

In a 2004 Issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, 5 eminent Psychiatrists petitioned their peers to change the Fight or Flight mantra to “Freeze, Flight, Fight and Fright” believing this better characterizes the ordered sequence of responses that mammals exhibit as a threat approaches or escalates.

A Close Quarter Protection training doctrine can probably function with just the first three ‘F’s being Freeze, Flight or Fight.  The fourth ‘F’ of fright being more relevant to the psychiatric profession dealing with posttraumatic stress syndromes.

Any training regime for Protectors that doesn’t address the potential for these autonomic responses to kick in is inadequate. They can cause a massive under-reaction, over-reaction or non–reaction in the moment of crisis.

During the Kennedy assassination in 1963, only one of the PSD Agents reacted to the gunshots.  The driver of the Presidential limo actually froze, and braked at the sounds of the shots causing the shooter to get a near stationary target for the last fatal head shot.

Survival Psychologists say that up to 80% of people freeze or under-react when presented with violence.  They just become stunned and bewildered.

The term used is “Incredulity Response”.  It’s why very few people become involved in helping out victims in incidences of street violence.

The US Secret Service, through proper training and conditioning, addressed these issues, and by the time of President Reagans near assassination in 1980 the PSD responded appropriately with incendiary speed. 

A case of “Flight” over-riding an appropriate response could be seen in the recent evacuation of the Australian Prime Minister, from a venue, where a handful of protesters had assembled outside.

Her protection team over-reacted and fled the building, nearly injuring the PM in the process and causing major embarrassment.

It is clearly plain to see the level of panic and stress visible on the officer’s faces though no threat is present.

It is evident that any training doctrine must include addressing the element of “freezing” when facing a critical incident.

Solutions could include : Hyper-realism training that conditions effective sudden "fight" responses from ambush and surprise ; training in orderly evacuations ; fear inoculation training ; and developing an understanding of Fear Management concepts.      

 

Image Projection v's Image Rejection

(This post by Hans van Beuge)

The recently disgraced and dismissed Secret Service Agents, who were part of the advance security for President Obama’s trip to Columbia, illustrate that even those at the apex of our profession are vulnerable to bad judgments and inappropriate behavior. 

Cohorting off duty with Columbian prostitutes was obviously a very poor choice but what surprised me more, was that the major offender had left a lengthy cyber trail of his unprofessional and inappropriate behavior.

This included posting photos of himself working with his Protectee as well as making sexist comments about the Protectee and other women on social networking sites.  

Projecting and maintaining a professional on-line reputation and image is essential to obtaining and maintaining working relationships within the Protection Industry.

Today, almost everything you do online is easy to track, especially when your're using social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, ASmallWorld, Viadeo, Xing, etc.

The good, the bad and the ugly ... anything that you have posted or has been posted about you on the Web will come up in an online search or with a little google-fu.

It now only takes a potential employer a few seconds to get a comprehensive and candid view of your professional and private life.

It's estimated that social media sites are checked by up to 63% of recruiters and 78% use search engines to find out more about potential employees.

What does your cyber image say about you? What sort of image would a potential client get from looking at your photos and comments posted online?

Do they project professionalism or do they convey an image of a narcissistic, attention seeking, self-serving fantasizer?  Once something has been posted online the reality is that it will probably stay there forevevever.

What would a potential client think if they did a search for your name whilst conducting due diligence and found that you had posted photo's of yourself with previous clients?  Or had divulged information about previous clients or had pretented to work with clients that you blatantly never had?

I frequently advise Agents that they should strive to become the sort of Agent they would hire them-selves if they were after the services of a Protection Specialist.

The same is true of your online image.  Make it project the type of Agent a Client would want to employ or interact with.

If you wish to become a Professional Protector than keep your online presence professional.

Keep in mind the famous quote, "Small minds discuss people (and I'll add, THEMSELVES), Average minds discuss events and Great minds discuss ideas".

Avoid posting banal, personal or opinionated comments. Make sure your photos enhance your image, not diminish it.

This is important not only from a PERSEC perspective but also from a marketing stategy.  Having a degree of mystery about you can be more effective than exposing every detail of your personal life.

Tony Scotti once said on facebook that he was not interested in hearing what you had for breakfast!  Amen to that!

"A man may cut his own throat with his tongue", I've frequently seen instances of that on social media sites. 

It should very much be a case of 'Less is more'.

Balancing the need to promote your services, the business aspect, with the high degree of confidentiality and discretion needed in this job will always be a contentious issue.

Although some of the most successful Protection Agents I know fly completely under the radar, I'd advise those attempting to enter the industry to be digitally existant. Employers do like to check you out and having a cyber social presence will assist you in networking with fellow professionals world-wide.

Do a google search for those in the profession that are held in the highest regard and are the most sucessful.  Emulate how they project their online image and behavior.

Without fail they all project the image of understated, dignified professionals.

It is also completely inadvisable to put a picture of yourself in a hot tub, on your website, unless you are a pornographer or plumbing supply wholesaler!

C.Q.C. Basics : Tactical Distance

(This post by Wayne Roy - C.Q.C. and I.P. Consultant)

Regardless of whether you're fighting unarmed, with a weapon, or unarmed against a weapon... the safest platform to defend and attack from is called 'tactical distance'.

What is tactical distance?  It's the distance that's just beyond the range of your partner's fastest attacks... which are the probes.

A probe is fast because it's your opponent's closest weapon.  On the street it might be a sudden push with one hand.  In boxing it would be a left jab or a hook.  In kickboxing it could be a quick skip-kick with the lead foot.

The basic purpose of a probe is to disrupt your opponent's balance (physically or mentally), and quickly follow-up with a power strike from the rear hand or rear leg. 

In boxing this might be a straight right-cross or a hook (see photo below).  And in kickboxing it could be a thrust-kick with the rear leg. 

Punches or kicks from the side furthest away are more powerful simply because they travel further... and therefore develop greater momentum.  But because they travel further, they can more easily be seen by your opponent... which is why they are usually preceded by a fast probe.

But let's get back to tactical distance.....

Standing just beyond the range of your opponent's probes makes those strikes relatively easy to evade or deflect.  And once deflected, you are in a position to quickly burst forward with your counter attack. 

If your opponent decides to move forward with a power strike (because probes don't reach) then they have to step forward to reach you... which means their attack can more easily be seen and dealt with. 

But here's the important point... tactical distance is just beyond the range of your opponent's probes... not safely out of range. 

If you were safely out of range (standing further away), it would certainly be difficult for your opponent to strike you.  But it would also be difficult for you to counter attack, because your opponent would see your strike coming.

So standing just out of range gives you the ability to evade or deflect, then quickly burst forward with your counter attack. 

It's all a matter of distance and timing... a tactic that many great boxers have mastered... and great martial artists like the legendary Bruce Lee.

Tactical distance - it's the safest platform to defend and attack from!

   



C.Q.C. Basics : The Strategy of Attack

(This post by Wayne Roy - C.Q.C. and I.P. Consultant)
  

If fighting 'defensively' was the only strategy you applied in combat, then you would be giving control of the confrontation over to your opponent.  Why?  Because they would get to decide when the action started, and what form it would take.

From a Japanese perspective, a more complete strategy is to fight using a fluid mixture of evasion, defence and attack.  And it's that last tactic that I would like to address.

In Japanese sword combat there are three basic attack tactics :

• Sen Sen no Sen - attack the opponent as they approach
• Sen no Sen - attack the opponent as they move to attack
• Go no Sen - attack the opponent just after they attack.

In Japanese, the term 'Sen' means taking the initiative. The term 'Go' means after.  Therefore a more precise translation of these tactics would be as follows :

• Sen Sen no Sen -  take the initiative before the opponent attacks you 
• Sen no Sen - take the initiative as the opponent attacks you 
• Go no Sen - take the initiative after the opponent attacks you.

For westerners, the terms Approach, Interception and Completion are much easier to remember, and more effectively explain the 'moments in time' that the Japanese tactics refer to :

• Approach - take the initiative and attack first 
• Interception - attack as they step forward to strike you 
• Completion - evade, and attack immediately after their attack.

The Running Attack :  The running attack is something you've seen in many samurai movies, but probably not fully understood.

Firstly, it is important to run in short balanced steps that enable you to suddenly change direction, or cut in any direction. 

The concept of running towards your opponent is to psychologically take control of the confrontation... and in response your opponent must react in one of three ways :

• freeze in fright, and be cut down
• attack out of panic, and be cut down as you suddenly evade and counter
• attack out of aggression, and be cut down as you suddenly evade and counter. 

In all of these situations, you are controlling the confrontation by forcing the issue.  It's a matter of being in the midst of chaos, but retaining a balanced state of mind and body.

  

C.Q.C. Basics : Tactical Posturing

(by Wayne Roy - C.Q.C. Consultant)

 

The important point to understand about adopting a posture in a confrontation is this : 

• any recognisable fighting stance is usually perceived as being an aggressive act
• so if you adopt a fighting stance, then your opponent will too (in self defence)
• and once two individuals shape-up in a fighting stance, they usually start fighting.

In short, adopting a recognisable stance can escalate the level of violence, unnecessarily !!!

Next point - it can be said that in combat there are 3 basic types of postures :

• defensive - those with a defensive barrier, and the weight on the back foot 
• offensive - those oriented to attacking, with the weight on the front foot
• receiving - those with an intentional opening, and the weight on either foot.

In Executive Protection the most appropriate posture to use is called a non-posture... which is simply a naturalised expression of the 3 basic types listed above.

In other words, a defensive non-posture would still involve extending your hands forward to create a barrier, but it will look natural and non-threatening. 

The Japanese call this tactic 'Kamae Nashi' - which means 'posture of no posture'.  They describe it as being an attitude (a body position) that disguises your real tactical intent.

To give you some examples of what this means, following are three classical Japanese postures, followed by non-posture expressions. 

The photo below is of a classical defensive posture called Ichimonji.  The lead hand is extended forward to create a barrier, and the rear fist is concealed back near the elbow.

The photo below is a non-posture expression of Ichimonji, and has the same basic defensive-barrier characteristic. The hands are still extended forward, but they are presented in a more subtle and natural way.

The photo below is of a classical receiving posture called Hoko, which means Bear. The arms are raised (like a standing bear) to lure-and-intercept an attack to the face or body.

The photo below is a non-posture expression of Hoko, and it has the same open characteristic.  The hands are positioned at shoulder-height to give the impression that you're 'open to reason'... but what you're actually doing is psychologically inviting any attack to come through the middle, so that you can intercept it.

The photo below is of a classical defensive posture called Doko, however it has an obvious counter-strike characteristic in the form of a raised thumb-thrust fist.

The photo below is a non-posture expression of Doko, however the rear hand is now pointing out to the side to psychologically engage any opponent standing on your flank. 

This allows you to verbally engage one opponent while discouraging a surprise attack from your blind side.  You won't really need to even look at the opponent on your flank... just a pointed finger will let them know that you're aware that he's there.

Keep in mind that with the prevalence of CCTV cameras these days, it's important not to come across as being an aggressive highly-trained fighter. 

The non-postures above (or your own expression of the concept) will create a low-key professional image, and still provide you with the tactical features necessary to protect yourself and your client.

History Repeats Itself *(hands ready position)

(This post by Wayne Roy - C.C.Q. and I.P. Consultant)



I have studied various martial arts since I was 16, and I've spent the last 30 years teaching. In one of the Japanese traditions that I studied there is a posture with the unusual name of 'Kongo Gassho no Kamae'.

It's commonly described as being a standing prayer position... however the feeling of adopting this posture is not one of praying - but of preparation.  The eyes are open, and the mind and body are in a balanced state, ready to act.

This is very important mind-set training in the classical martial arts... however it's often overlooked because it's perceived as being part of the unnecessary ceremony that's performed before-and-after a combat scenario. 

But what it does is strengthen a practitioner's 'no-mind' state.  The term translates as meaning : no thought, no emotion.  

This mind-set is the very foundation of a martial artist's ability to respond effectively in a confrontation, because it stops you from experiencing emotional extremes. 

Why is that important?  Because emotional extremes distort your sense of reality, and consequently your ability to respond.  Two examples of this from our own western culture are the sayings : frozen with fear ; and blind with rage. 

So without this mind-set preparation (this no-mind state), you run the risk of letting your emotions get the best of you... and any anxiety, fear, anger or aggression will distort your ability to recognise a threat, and effectively respond to it.  

Today, C.Q.P operators and Secret Service Agents do the same thing... positioning their hands and preparing their mind to spontaneously and effectively respond to an attack... most probably without realising that the same practice was also used in ancient Japan.

For more insight into the 'hands ready' position, click on the link below :

http://www.itsprimalprotection.com/2012/05/close-quarter-preparation-hands-ready.html

My special thanks to Stephen Needham Photography in Brisbane, Australia.