One Too Many

We’ve heard the phrase, ‘one too many’ referring to drinking too much alcohol. This also has some significance to when you only have a very minute amount of time to react quickly and instinctively in self defence. Any more than one technique that pops up in your head will slow you right down. John Will’s recent blog, has a great article, ‘STARTLED’, which I recommend everybody read which goes into detail about reaction time being affected by having to choose from multiple responses. Richard Norton similarly talks about being ‘log jammed’ ie too many techniques, in a ‘fight or flight’ situation, is going to get you into trouble. That is the problem with Police Officers today who carry so much artillery around and have to calculate the most appropriate weapon for a situation. Too bad if they choose the wrong one. Forget ‘the more, the merrier’ in this case. Everybody has experienced the amount of time taken to decide their order from a restaurant menu. The more choices on the menu the more time wasted. Time is a luxury which we cannot afford in a crisis.

The old saying, ‘I feel safe because I know 1,000 techniques’ can now be found in the museum’. Bruce Lee said, ‘I don’t fear the man who knows 1,000 kicks but I fear the man who knows one kick and throws it 1,000 times’.

In a book, ‘Watch My Back’ by Geoff Thompson (a famous English Night Club bouncer), the author talks about his co-worker, John ‘Awesome’ Anderson who only did one thing to handle drunks and larrikins, whilst working in the toughest night clubs in England. He used his right cross to get the job done successfully over 1,000 times.

Of course we train many things in the martial arts as possible which is the fun side of discovering and learning new moves; that is the science of martial arts. But when it comes to training real self defence, don’t become log jammed; you just don’t have the time.

Over and out!
G.A.