The
Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
By Dr. Russ Horine, President, Fight-Fast Direct, Inc.
Part 27
The
80/20 Principle
This principle
states that 80% of the consequences stem from 20%
of the causes. Now of course this isn’t a hard and fast
rule -- it’s more like a rule of thumb – but it can
have powerful consequences.
Let me see if I
can clarify this for you with an example.
The Japanese used
the 80/20 principle to concentrate 80% of their efforts
on just 20% of the industrial cycle – that cycle being
production costs and quality control. By focusing on a small
but important sector – and doing a better job than any
of their competitors – the Japanese lowered their cost
of production while at the same time raising the quality
of their product. The result?
Well nothing too big… just one of the world’s most powerful
economies.
Okay,
so what does this production and economic talk all have
to do with fighting? Well just this. This 80/20 rule transcends into
more than just industry – it permeates everything in
life. So when developing your own personal fighting
system, you’ll want to look to those techniques that
have the absolute highest probability for success and
lowest required maintenance time. This is what will
drive your success.
When turning to
DVDs for instruction, Fight-Fast has sought out teachers
that focus their efforts on the fighting side of martial
arts -- not the “art” side. I have personally run across
plenty of instructors who claim that their training
is suitable for the “street” when the simple truth is
that it is not. At Fight-Fast we’ve already done the
hard work for you by seeking out instructors based on
their real-world talents, experience and ability to
teach -- not necessarily what level “belt rank” they’ve
achieved or the lineage of instructors they’ve studied
under.
Once again, you’ll
be concentrating the vast majority of your efforts --
80% -- on the 20% of tactics and techniques that will
do you the most good – the ol’
80/20 rule working for you!
Four
Methods Of Obtaining Your
Objective:
Too many guys think that learning
how to win a fight means that your objective must be
fighting. Wrong. Your objective is to “end the threat.”
There are four ways to end the threat. Here they are:
- Avert or avoid – This is all about
not putting yourself in a dangerous environment to
begin with. It’s about being aware of your surroundings.
My research has shown that people who frequent violent
areas of town often become (for some mysterious reason)
victims of violent crimes. So a crime victim might
say “I was in a dark back alley near Skid Row at 2
in the morning and I was viciously and unexpectedly
attacked by thugs”. Now I ask you… seriously… how
much of a victim is he really? The world is not your
own personal playground. You must take responsibility
for the sticky situations you put yourself in.
Of course
people can and DO get into confrontations where they’d
least expect it… at ball games… outside work… at the
gym… any number innocent places. But it’s a game of
calculated chance. Because the odds of running into
serious trouble on a street corner ripe with drugs and
prostitution is greater than on the steps of a Mormon
church on Sunday morning.
Another more subtle
form of avoiding a confrontation is how you carry yourself.
Proper body language and an air of self-esteem can go
a long way in broadcasting to criminals that you’re
not an easy mark. Knowing some simple ways to “take
care of business” instantly adds a level of self-confidence
that people recognize. This also leaks into other areas
of your life and the confidence will be noticed.
- De-escalate – I’ve already covered
this in excruciating detail – so I won’t bother to
go through de-escalation techniques again except to
point out that this is one option to obtain your objection
(which is to “end the threat”… remember?)
Let’s
review again the three types of opponents you’ll face
and when and where you can possibly de-escalate the
fight.
a.
Bully – There’s little chance at successfully “de-escalating”
a confrontation with a bully. He’s interested in dominating
you, and at the point of confrontation he may view anything
less that dishing out a good ass beating as “backing
down”. And bullies don’t typically back down.
b.
Predator – You have even less of a chance to successfully
de-escalating a confrontation with a predator as once
he’s chosen you to be a victim he will not be talked
out of it. A predator must simply be convinced as quickly
as possible that he’s made a mistake by choosing you
as a victim.
c.
Badger – An emotionally volatile
individual that DOES respond well to specific de-escalation
techniques. Of course the trick is to be sure which
type of opponent you’re dealing with. If it’s a Badger,
try to de-escalate if it’s safe.
- Escape – This is a highly under-rated
consideration. If you’re not trying to protect yourself,
your loved ones, your dignity, freedom or future…
then why bother fighting? Avoid the fight completely,
or run and get the hell out of there. This should
be the FIRST thing you consider.
For example…
a Muay Thai kickboxing champion
had his car stolen in San Francisco
(a true story that made front page news). It was ripped
off right under his nose as he watched from the front
window of his own dojo. He was humiliated and quickly
took chase on foot – and amazingly caught up with the
car thief at a red light (traffic in San
Francisco is very slow indeed).
Angry… adrenalin pumping… and in the best fighting shape
of his life he yanked open the car door and confronted
the car thief…
And
was immediately shot dead where he stood.
Now, when
you analyze the situation, there was NO good reason
this kickboxer needed to
do anything but call the cops and get some paper work
filled out. He had insurance, the danger was already
passed (the thief was driving away for Pete’s sake),
there wasn’t a girlfriend, grandmother, or baby in the
car. It was his foolish eagerness to fight and confront
a dangerous criminal that ended his one and only life.
Learn a
lesson from this. Do not be too eager to fight.
- Disable the Adversary – This is where
all the target acquisition and fighting techniques
come into play. I won’t go over all the specific techniques,
but I will repeat this: the secret is to quickly pick
open targets and then using specific fight techniques
to attack those targets – never the other way around.
Now notice
that I use the word “adversary” and not “attacker.”
Here’s why… as we talked about earlier, YOU may be the
attacker. Standing around whistling in the wind until
a threatening person has the opportunity to define himself
as an “attacker” is not a good idea. If you wait until
HE is the attacker, it means you’re the defender, which lessens your
chance at winning.
You’ll want
keep certain “High Probability Tactics” in mind. These
are tips designed to give you a great chance of success
in a street fight or personal combat situation.
Eye Contact – Good eye contact
demonstrates that you are confident – which can be especially
important to convincing an adversary that you will fight
back -- not the easy target they were hoping for. You’ll
want to break eye contact when the fight is imminent.
Instead, look to his hands for weapons then to his chest
to determine his movement. The direction of his chest
determines from which side he’ll be throwing a haymaker
(if he turns to his right, he’ll be throwing a right
handed shot). You don’t want to allow eye contact to
suck you into his emotional state as it often begins
the destructive “internal dialogue”. Instead check for
weapons, look for movement, the quickly begin your target
acquisition.
Distraction – Throwing change on the ground, flipping
a cigarette into his face, or a quick jab to the eye
can allow you to set up for a devastating first strike
or a quick escape. You won’t get any more than a 1-2
seconds head start before your adversary snaps back,
so use that time to your advantage – either strike or
flee. Larry Wick has
a number of quick physical distractions (really amazing)
that instantly strips away your opponent’s focus for
a second or two.
Deception – The purpose
is to provide you with an element of surprise. You can’t
go wrong with the submissive-looking hands up and ready
“forward trigger” position combined with a verbal “hey
man… I don’t want to fight”. Good stuff that lulls him
into a false sense of security. When you suddenly “lay
on the hate” he’ll be thrown back on his heels… panicking
and wondering why he ever messed with you.
Til next time…
Dr. Russ Horine
Prez, Fight-Fast.com
“This is the law: The purpose of fighting is to win.
There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important
than either.
The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.”
-- John Steinbeck
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