On top of Straight line vs circular attack types, we now expand in to attack patterns. Attack patterns are essential how they are implementing the attack and at what speed and tempo. As a general rule, we have 3, Threats, Committed attacks and Non-committed attacks. For bladed attacks, we add a third called “blender mode”.
- Threats- A threat is a static motion rather than dynamic. If someone is holding a knife to you, this is a knife threat. If someone has grabbed you but is only holding you it is a threat. They have yet to put any kinetic energy into their attempt other than the initial motion. But don’t get it wrong, if you attempt to do something and mess up at any point their threat can become an attack.
- Committed Attacks – A committed attack is linear. It follows a direct path from the attacker to the intended target on a person. Committed attacks are usually due to an emotional reaction or because an attacker has decided or committed to a specific attack. The 360 defence, for example, is designed for committed attacks like the “ice pick” or “Prison shank” style attack. These attacks go from outside in and downward or upward. Attacks like bear hugs are also committed as the attacker is going from a static, to forward grab and slam and there is a specific attack pattern.
- Non-Committed attacks – Non-committed attacks are any attack which do not follow a linear pattern. A basic Non-committed attack, adds a retraction to the attack rather than a telegraphed “committed” attack. They may start in one direction such as straight, then retract for another attack or quickly change to something else. They can come from up, down, left or right. The intent is the same as a committed attack, that is to harm the intended target, but there is no set way. Hacking slashing knife attacks are an example of a non-committed attack. When dealing with a non-committed attack it can be a battle of Action vs reaction until someone wins. As such you must reset their mental processing and do damage to them as fast as you possibly can prior to progressing to control.
Because of action vs reaction concepts, the more your brain has to process the harder it is going to be to formulate the correct action to stop the attack or threat. Thus the more complex and non-linear an attack the harder it will be to deal with. Because of this committed attacks are preferable over non-committed attacks when it comes to a defence perspective. However, from an attacking perspective, a non-committed attack is preferable as it has a greater chance of succeeding. If you encounter a non-committed attack the best idea is to simply create distance and run and if you cant run, you must find a way through strategy, technique and aggression to overwhelm your opponent.
- Blender Mode – Blender mode is reserved for a Non-Committed knife attack which is both stabbing and slashing in a fast motion. This essentially created a wall of “blender blades” which is not safe to approach. The attacker either started like this or you screwed up your initial defence, and they went from a simple committed lunge to a non-commited straight line attack to blender mode. These are the times when it is best to use a weapon of opportunity.
How you train in the gym is how you will react in the street. The more you repeat a movement, the more your body will know how to do it. The more you practice, the faster you will react. There is a saying; a true master forgets all he knows. This is due to muscle memory. (It should be noted that it is actually your neurons, and nervous system getting trained how to fire and when, which intern activates the muscles) The more time you take to think on how to move or react, the more likely a situation can go from bad to worse.
their first 45 degrees in relation to the ground, not overextending their elbows and using their bodies to generate the power. Unlike boxing where there is gloves and which it is acceptable to over rotate the fist for more range and arguably more power. Or wing Chung which uses vertical fists to increase the speed. Kravists choose the middle ground between power and speed so that our punches are more likely to land with the larger two knuckles.
Psychologically, the combination of the increased heart rate, sweating, and the explosion of energy in the muscles, create a sense of acute awareness of the current situation and the ability to act quickly. While this illustrates a case in which the entire process runs smoothly, you must also be aware of the case in which it fails, known as condition black. Condition black is also known as ‘freezing’ during a dangerous situation, preventing the individual from fleeing or fighting. Cognitively, a sense of increased aggression will be associated with the ‘fight’ response and a combination of fear and anxiety for ‘flight’, while freezing is associated with fear and anxiety, but also a feeling of physical stiffness. During this freeze response, the parasympathetic nervous system dumps large amounts of hormones into the body, the same hormones that return the body to its relaxed state after a fight. The sudden increase of these hormones during a dangerous situation have the opposite effect of the fight or flight response, mixing panic with an inability to act quickly. Although freezing can be useful in situations in which a person must remain still in order to hide from an attacker, it can be detrimental when faced with an attacker head on.”
