PDF Brief # 15:

Spontaneous Reaction–––
Not “Lightning Reflexes”

UNWITTINGLY perhaps, we (and yourself also, probably) were taught

in the karate and ju-jutsu methods that we learned in the past, that it is
important to build lighting-fast reflex reactions to the numerous types of
physical attack that we might encounter. Blocks and evasions counted
uppermost (“Karate begins and ends with blocking”; “In karate never
make the first move”;”The ju-jutsu man deals with the attacker’s
momentum and strength, using his attacking action to defend against
him”, etc.). Taught with the best of honorable intentions. The only
problem with this tactical imperative (as we began to see in the late
1960’s) is that it is impractical, imprecise, slow, weak, unreliable, and
––– against a tough, determined, vicious assailant or assailants –––
unworkable and dangerous to attempt.

In the training hall or school the method works beautifully. “Okay Frank,
come at me with the upper-level punch. I want to work on the rising
block and reverse punch counter”; or “I need to review the defenses
against frontal clothing grabs. Attack me with the one-hand grab first,
then come at me with the two-hand grab”.
It definitely is necessary to learn and to practice counterattacking actions
assiduously. But they must be readily adoptable, aggressively
destructive, and taught as back-ups to the offensive tactical approach.

Some martial arts systems have ––– literally –––– almost 4,000 individual,
specific “self-defense techniques” in their repertoire! The idea is that by learning
how to handle every possible attack and variation of attack, the student will be able
to defend himself against whatever conceivable onslaught may be directed against
himself. But the exact opposite is true! By cluttering up the mind and body with
the combination of demands that you first assess and understand exactly how you
are being attacked, and then respond perfectly with a suitably designed self-defense
technique you all but guarantee that you will not be able to handle a sudden,
serious and vicious attack by a felon who intends to seriously injure you.

The whole emphasis upon “self-defense techniques” is an error. In the popular

kenpo-karate approach (of which, today, there are many different schools and
interpretations) one constant virtually assures impracticality: i.e. the teaching of
hundreds and hundreds of individual, specific self-defense techniques. The attacker
attacks you with this action, you do these moves; he attacks you with that action
you do those . . . etc. Not only too many defenses; too much emphasis upon
defense . . . based on the assumption ––– wrong! ––– that lightning fast
reflexes will enable you to do exactly what is demanded by the attacker’s moves
against you. Kenpo-karate’s strength is that it emphasizes followup and continuity
of defense, rather than one-punch stops, or single actions. But their repertoire (as
devised by the Founder of the Art, Prof. William Kwai Sun Chow) of 750
individual self-defense moves (with variations) is impractical. By way of
comparison, we in American Combato (Jen•Do•Tao) teach about 125
counterattacks and no student is expected or encouraged to “master” them all! He
is encouraged to focus on the preemptive attack, and to view skills designed to
cope with attacks that come by surprise as backup actions . . . in effect, the least
desirable way to handle dangerous, violent aggression. He is taught to master a
well-chosen, compact group of these counterattacks and to rely upon
them as a backup to his foundational preemptive attacking/offensive
core repertoire.

Why is this focus on defense wrong and so potentially dangerous for the
student of self-defense?
Briefly, it is wrong because it is based upon the incorrect premist that
you can develop reflexes that are trained precisely and quickly enough to
deal with suprise attacks. You can’t. No one ever has.

It is unrealistic to expect to master an enormous number of “defenses”

––– each designed for a very specific variant of a very specific attack. It
may seem like a comprehensive approach to self-defense, but all it
amounts to is a form of encyclopedic confusion. It would be like having
a variety of brake pedals in your car. One slows the vehicle down to a
gradual stop. Another slows it down a bit faster, and a third slows it
down even faster. A fourth brings your vehicle to a reasonably quick
stop, but the fifth causes it to stop almost at once. In an emergency you
have brake pedal number six which brings your car to an immediate,
screeching halt. This might sound efficient and the best way to go, to
someone who has never driven any vehicle in his life (in fact who never
even rode a bicycle) but to anyone who has had actual experience
driving, the idea immediately registers as “complete nonsense”. Your
one, single brake pedal is all you need; and once you have learned
how to drive you automatically adjust ––– in accordance with each
given situation ––– to the degree of pressure you suddenly or slowly
bring to bear on the brake pedal. Self-defense techniques (or, as we
prefer to call those that we teach, counterattacks) must be flexible and
readily adaptable to the virtually endless ways in which an assailant may
attack. Yes, there must be followup ––– and lots of it! ––– but the
followup, like the basic technique, itself, must be flexibly adaptable to
whatever unanticipated movements or actions the opponent makes.

But the fastest and best method of self-defense is not to rely upon
defenses (or counterattacks) at all; instead to have as your primary,
frontline strategy the tactical imperative of ATTACKING THE
ATTACKER, THAT IS, PREEMPTING, AND NOT HAVING TO
COPE WITH AN ASSAILANT’S COMPLETED ONSLAUGHT AT
ALL. Yes, this is an “ideal” goal. But it certainly is achieveable; and it is
achievable in a million times more cases than is a specifically defensive
reaction to the exact movements an opponent initiates. In point of fact it
is practical, doable, reliable, and the absolute best way to win in
personal combat that exists.

So . . . if you are following us . . . you have preempting as your all-

round best way to handle any violent attack; you have aggressively
destructive counterattacks as backups to your core preemptive
strategy; and we really do need to mention here that all of this is for
those situations when AVOIDANCE, our first and foremost self-defense
“technique” simply has not proven feasible.

This is realistic, practical, sensible, sound, readily mastered, and backed

up by what every actual instance of violence that has ever taken place on
planet earth has proven ––– from wars between nations to scuffles in a
schoolyard between grade school kids. Hell, it even wins in competitive
martial sports! A boxer wins by punching his opponent, not by
dodging or blocking his opponent’s punches; a judo man wins by
throwing and submitting his opponent, not by evading his
opponent’s efforts to throw him; a wrestler wins by downing and
submitting his opponent, never by striving to block his opponent’s
efforts to take him down, etc.; the karate man wins by scoring kicks
and punches against his opponent, not by preventing his opponent
from kicking and punching him . . . and so on. Of course there is no
correlation between the techniques, and the tactics, and the mindset that
is required to win in combat/defense vs. that which is required to win a
match in competitive sport; but the idea that all forms ––– real and
sporting ––– of interpersonal conflict must be won by pro-active action
and not by playing catch-up with a pro-active adversary is as rock-solid
sound as anything can be.

You cannot develop reflexes fast enough to stop a determined, surprise

attack. ACTION IS FASTER THAN REACTION. You must build
tactics and techniques that place the advantage of attacking in your
hands, via the preempting strategy. And when you are caught off-guard
(which you must incessantly strive to avoid letting happen) your reaction
must be a blitzkrieg of spontaneous, vicious, destructively merciless
counteroffensive actions that turn the tables and that make you the
attacker.

The message and lesson in this Training Brief is pure gold, and the only
other place you’re likely to find it is in our classes and lessons (or, in the
near future, in the mouthings of those who plagiarize and copycat us).
This concept, which revamps the whole philosophy and tactical
orientation of just about every school and system of combat arts, will,
when taken to heart and made integral to any student’s basic approach
to self-defense training, propel the effectiveness of that student’s training
to otherwise previously unreachable heights.

Not that we need to do so, but to demonstrate how true and how
effective this concept is, just consider the cases where and when top
level “martial artists” had to actually defend themselves; and/or consider
the conclusions that top-level martial masters have come to after a
lifetime of learning the traditional ways. Not formally and as martial
doctrine ––– but strictly in their own personal training ––– they have
either intuitively or deliberately revised what they were taught for
decades to reflect that which we’re giving you, here and now:

––– When the celebrated Moo Duk Kwan Master Richard Chun found
himself needing to defend against a literal gang of scumbags who
accosted him in a cafe, near the downtown NYU campus in New York
City, he attacked, and he kept on attacking, paying essentially no
attention to what the scumbags were trying to do, but focusing only on
his own counteroffensive. Result: Six scumbags hospitalized; two ran
like the cowardly garbage they were.

––– When Combat Karate Master, the late John Kuhl, was attacked by
three lumps of gutter s––t while on his way home one evening, he
attacked them. What these vermin were trying to do was of no concern
to Master Kuhl! He knew what he was going to do ––– and that was to
ruin their whole damn plan of predation! Result: Two pieces of s––t
dead, and one crippled.
––– When long retired World Heavyweight boxing Champion, the late
Jack Dempsey ––– then in his 80’s ––– was confronted by two creatures
of the sewer who wanted to rob him, Dempsey didn’t wait for the filth to
grab or to hit him ––– he knocked each of the scumbags out with a
punch apiece. Result: Two (well-deserved) knockouts for The Champ!

––– When John Keehan protégé, the late combat expert Frank Ryan of
the Bronx, was confronted while with his wife by two troublemaking
s––tbags at Yonkers Raceway, Ryan didn’t wait a second. He seized one
of the rodents and bit off his ear. When he spit the ear out right in front
of the bastard, the scumbag fainted! The second asswipe ran like a little
girl. Result: Successful defense of himself and his wife, via attack.

Possibly by an intuitive instinct of the moment, the above world class

masters of individual combat hit on the right concept and dealt
beautifully with their respective situations.

Some martial arts Masters came to conclusions about that which really
works after a lifetime of immersion in classical arts:

––– Our beloved friend and colleague, the late John McSweeney
(“Father of Irish Karate” and developer of the “Tiger Moves” System of
freehand physical training) had a Black Belt in Chow’s kenpo-karate
from Ed Parker, experience in ju-jutsu, judo, ch’uan fa [“kung fu”], and
boxing. During the later years of his life . . . with virtually limitless
techniques that he was familiar with . . . John narrowed his personal
repertoire down to nine basic blows. He called them the “power strikes”
of combat karate, and as his pet blows they constituted what he came to
rely upon as his personal method of self-defense. Just nine blows.

––– The amazing Jon Bluming (certainly one of the most incredibly
accomplished and experienced and thoroughly trained Caucasion
masters of martial arts in the world), holding a 10th Dan in
Kyokushinkai karate, 10th Dan in Hapkido, and 9th Dan in Kodokan
judo, settled upon one single and simple attacking combination (one that
we teach in American Commbato, by the way!) as his key move for a
real world encounter. A fast front kick to the adversary’s testicles,
followed by a powerful straight heelpalm thrust to his face. God help the
miscreant a-––hole upon whom Bluming ever finds a need to employ it!

Notice: In all of the above cases: No defensive attitude or tactical

strategy. Just a mastery of spontaneous attack when and if necessary
for self-defense. We respectfully suggest that you do not wait and hope
that you hit on this principle by good luck if you are attacked, or that
you enter your 60’s or 70’s before you finally cut all of the “fat” from
what you’re now training in and use this valuable concept. Start in today
and revise your training (if you are not already following our System
in class or via DVDs) to emphasize SPONTANEOUS ATTACK. Leave
the practice of blocking, evading, parrying, and purely defensive tactics
and sparring (i.e. playing) to others. Subordinate everything to vicious
and instantaneous attack, once someone attacks you. Keep countering as
a backup. and make even that as vicious and aggressive as possible.

Please never forget this fact: An untelegraphed surprise attack that is

launched within arms reach will connect. This is because action is faster
than reaction, and it is absurd to believe that some form of “training” or
skill can alter this fact. Obviously, if a man confronting you raises his
hand and arm in a preparatory move before throwing a punch at you,
you will be able ––– theoretically, anyway ––– to block his punch. But
that is because his first action is not the punch, itself, but rather a
telegraphing, preparatory move to which you can (and certainly
should) react. But do not kid yourself about developing “lightning
reflexes” that will enable you to block or to dodge an untelegraphed
punch (or other action) that explodes in your face without warning
of any kind. And for Heaven’s sake if you see th preparatory move,
ATTACK! Don’t wait to “block” it!

The solution is to cultivate sound tactics that deny an aggressor the

opportunity to launch an untelegraphed surprise action against you,
while at the same time developing attack mindedness and preemptive
skills that enable you to spontaneously attack your attacker and
neutralize him.
This is key in American Combato. It is one of the numerous innovative
lessons that our System has to teach about handling real violence –––
not merely theoretical “attacks” in the dojo or school.

Additionally, a very practical repertoire of counterattacking actions

must be developed, so that when a surprise attack does get through, your
reaction is SPONTANEOUS FEROCITY AND RETALIATORY
VIOLENCE ––– in effect, the only thing that may save you in such a
situation. And never forget that there are no counterattacks that can be
relied upon against everything! There are attacks which if launched by
an assailant using the element of surprise cannot be defended against.
For example: Skilled attacks from behind (to include club blows, knife
attacks, and gunshots, as well as certain proven unarmed attacks).
Sudden, unexpected punches to the face or to the body delivered within
arms reach. Fast, surprise kicks fall into this category, too. In regard to
this, we strongly recommend that you do some lengthy research on
YouTube, and study the many posted videos of surprise attacks –––
notably, of course, punches to the face and head ––– that are executed by
different people at different times and in different contexts. Notice how
they always connect. The surprise attack is always the best; and you
should make careful note of this yourself, to be used by yourself, in
undertaking spontaneous actions against unavoidable physical
adversaries.

Get real. Accept reality. It has nothing to do with sport or classical

theory!

Become ATTACK MINDED. During WWII this was pounded into the
heads of allied troops and secret agents by the masters of close combat
(i.e. Fairbairn, Sykes, Applegate, O’Neill, and in turn the men who they
trained to be their assistant instructors.) A defensive mindset will not
do. Combat of any kind or degree is won by offense, not by defense.
Defense is, properly, the motive of the decent and correctly trained
individual. But offense must be his means, once he is in danger and he
finds himself needing to defend.
Attacks against which no preemption or counterattack is possible must
be prepared for, and the likelihood of their occurrence reduced to the
barest possible minimum, by a commitment to SITUATIONAL
AWARENESS ––– ALERTNESS ––– AS CLOSE TO 24/7 AS
POSSIBLE. The trainee who implements this and takes it as a serious
concern and part of his very lifestyle will not likely ever be in a position
where defending himself is not possible. It must be backed up by proper
skills, tactics, and techniques; but all of the skill, tactical wisdom, and
technical mastery of sound doctrine is optimally effective and reliable
only when supported by mindset.

To be ready to defend yourself means to be ready to generate effective

violent force spontaneously and well ––– with speed, balance, power,
accuracy, and will ––– the second you realize that someone or some ones
now poses a threat of harm to you. And this is what you must train for.

Training Tips

OK. If you’re following all of this and if you simply consider the facts,
we think you’ll agree that the widely touted objective of building up
“self-defense reflexes” is extremely misleading. Systems and schools
that teach you to practice a purely reactive or defensive strategy –––
however well-intentioned, and regardless of how honestly and sincerely
their instructors believe in this approach ––– are not offering what
serious ability in individual combat (offensive and defensive) requires.
So we’d like to offer some suggestions that will enable you, even if you
are not a student of American Combato, per se, to train in a manner more
consistent with the demands of the real world than you have perhaps
been training in, to date.

Training suggestion #1: FORGET FOREVER ABOUT “FIGHTING

STANCES”

Fighting stances make sense in all of the sport and competition venues.
These are fair matches, in which opponents square off and approach
each other at the appointed time. The objective is to begin equally, with
each contestant having a fair and even chance against the other. This has
nothing to do with combat!

We have, since the late 1960’s, been teaching what we refer to as the
Relaxed-Ready Stance. This is an off-angled stance in which the student
is turned a bit so as to deny access to his frontal area. The rear foot is
positioned to a point in front of the rear shoulder, and the lead foot is
very slightly turned inward.. Both hands are held at sternum level,
relaxed. Never is a clenching or tensing of either hand made. Eyes are
on the individual whom one is confronting. You look at his face, but your
peripheral vision takes in his entire body. Mentally you are in
YELLOW or ORANGE (i.e. “alert”, or “alert-and-expecting-a-
possible- attack”, respectively) depending upon how you assess the
immediate situation. (Note: Police departments and agencies throughout
the Country have adopted their version of this as the “Interview Stance”,
and teach it to officer trainees.)

Training suggestion #2: KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM ANYONE

YOU DO NOT KNOW AND TRUST, OUTSIDE ARMS LENGTH

What you do when you establish this distance and remain in the
relaxed-ready stance is make it impossible for the person you are
facing to strike out at you or seize you by surprise. He needs to move in
quickly in order to get in range, and that is your tripwire ––– should
you see him attempting to do this ––– to ATTACK HIM. Should your
man simply try to move in closer to you apparently in a non-violent
“innocent” way, you step back and re-set yourself at the necessary
distance. Naturally you must adjust if he attempts to move around to
your front or to your rear, and bypass your off-angled posture. Never
leave that relaxed-ready stance or allow your man to bypass it. Adjust
as you must, up until and unless he aggresses; then BLAST INTO
HIM AND LEAVE HIM ON THE DECK, HELPLESS! You shift
immediately to mental condition RED (i.e. “Attack!”) the very second
you perceive the individual whom you are facing initiate the first
aggressive move. YOU SPONTANEOUS ATTACK HIM, ALLOWING
YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND TO DECIDE “HOW” YOU
ATTACK, BUT ATTACKING LIKE A WILD ANIMAL THE VERY
SECOND YOU SEE DANGER.

Training suggestion #3: MASTER A HANDFUL OF VERY

DESTRUCTIVE, VERY SIMPLE, VERY EASILY RETAINED
AND VERY ADAPTABLE OFFENSIVE MOVES ––– IN
COMBINATION

You cannot be spontaneous and fast with acrobatic, fine motor moves
that demand precision. Under actual, real world conditions of combat
such elaborate moves are useless. The fact that you can develop and
practice them at full speed in the dojo with practice partners means
nothing. The situation in the real world will be explosively shocking
and stressful; there will be a small moment of astonishment (which must
be reduced to a minimum and, eventually, eliminated), and then you
must spontaneously attack, and keep on attacking until you’ve
rendered your would-be destroyer harmless. Your assailant’s embryonic
attacking moves must trigger your vicious and decisive attack against
him.

You must have a significan offensive capability in order to handle real

world violence successfully.

Training suggestion #4: MASTER COUNTERATTACKS (I.E.

“SELF-DEFENSE TECHNIQUES”) THAT FOCUS ON SPEEDILY
TURNING YOU INTO THE ATTACKER

Merely trying to block, evade, break holds, neutralize all sorts of attacks
by themselves, is not learning effective self-defense. There is no “nice”,
“sanitized” way to stop a dangerous, violent attacker. You must injure,
knock-out, maim, or in some awful instances, kill one or more
violent attackers in order to stop them, and save your life. Just read
the news stories about violent attacks, and observe the brainless scum
attacking human beings in presentations on YouTube, if you need
convincing. These monsters are not playing. Nor are they all cowardly,
or bluffing, or physically weak or without a few good moves. If you
could not preempt their attack, then have developed a degree of instant,
immediate, SPONTANEOUS FEROCITY with which you generate
your counter force actions at once.

So long as you are attacking, you are winning. So long as you are
“defending” you are losing!

Training Suggestion #5: DISCOUNT NOTHING FOR SELF-

DEFENSE

If you are bothered by biting, eye gouging, tearing ears off, crushing
testicles, using anything at hand to assist you in destroying a murderous
attacker, shoving an assailant out a window or down stairs, etc. then you
cannot possibly attack with spontaneity. You have inhibitions, and they
must go.

Let’s say you have something in your hand. If that something can be
utilized right now as a weapon, fine! Use it. Use it whether or not the
attacker has anything in his hand. (A wonderful story appeared some
time ago about a young lady who was attacked in a parking garage.With
not a second’s hesitation she ripped at her attacker’s face with the
vehicle key that was in ther hand. The scumbag ran away, and she was
safe! And, as a bonus, DNA was found that was later responsible for the
scumbag’s conviction, following his arrest!)

If you have something in your hand that will not serve as a weapon,
throw it in the attacker’s face, and then tear into him like a guard dog
using whatever comes to mind immediately to injure him severely and
bring his threat to you to a swift halt.

Be blocked and hesitant about nothing! Release hell itself on your

attacker, and do so without the slightest temor of hesitation ––– and DO
IT IMMEDIATELY! Nothing . . . absolutely nothing is “out of order”
or “too much”, when defending your life or the life of a loved one.
Anything goes.
Training suggestion #6: SPONTANEOUS REACTION WITH
MERCILESS ––– EVEN CRUEL ––– FEROCITY AND RAGE IS
THE KEY TO USING QUALITY COMBAT SKILLS
EFFECTIVELY. FOCUS ON THAT, AND DISREGARD
FANTASY, SPORT, CLASSICISM, MYSTICISM, AND PLAIN
BULLSHIT! NEVER REGARD AN ATTACKER AS A HUMAN
BEING!

This is what enables spontaneous, aggressive, decisive attack to

become an uninhibited reaction when an attacker places you in
immediate danger: Seeing your enemy as a target to be destroyed
NOW . . . and not cluttering up your mind and muscles with thoughts of
forebearance and consideration for a “person”.

Training Suggestion #7: STRIVE ALWAYS TO DEVELOP A

MORE AND MORE EFFICIENT AND SIMPLER REPERTOIRE
OF SKILLS, AS YOUR EXPERIENCE SHOWS YOU WHAT
WORKS BEST FOR YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL. TEN
TECHNIQUES THAT ARE APPLICABLE IN DOZENS OF
SITUATIONS MAKE SENSE; DOZENS OF TECHNIQUES,
EACH OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE IN A SPECIFIC, LIMITED
CONTEXT ONLY, ARE USELESS.

You ideally want a mastery of the best blows and combinations of

blows, coupled with widely applicable counterattacks that can be
adapted to a near infinite number of situations. Example: with the
numerals “0”, “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”, “5”, “6”, “7”, “8”, and “9” every
single conceivable number can be written. You’ll probably need more
than ten techniques ––– more, probably, like 30 or so ––– but you should
get the idea, right? You do NOT need or want many hundreds or several
thousands of techniques!

A very fast, almost instant spontaneous reaction to any attack will be

possible when your techniques are as few in number as are absolutely
necessary, and when you have conditioned your motor nerves to
employ them instantaneously upon perceiving any attack against
yourself. Cut away the fancy stuff, the “pretty” and the “impressive”.
Hardcore war-proven skills is the watchword.

Conclusion

Numerous myths and errors exist in and are promulgated through the
classical martial arts and the manner in which they are taught, insofar as
practical, modern, realistic needs are concerned. One of the worst
mistakes that seem almost universal in the many and varied karate and
ju-jutsu systems and styles that are taught is the idea of building “instant,
lightning-fast defensive reflexes”. Work instead on the realistic goal of
developing an immediate spontaneous reaction capability to the
perception of imminent attack from an enemy. That will stay with you
for life . . . even as your physical prowess diminishes (as speedy reflexes
do, along with other physical attributes) as you grow older.

Self-defense is for LIFE. The mental, tactical, technical training that

you follow for personal security and protection ought properly to be a
lifetime pursuit. The skills you learn at 20 may be needed when you are
85! If your skills are basic, practical, real-world skills, they will be
doable by you throughout your lifetime. And if you inculcate the ability
to react with extreme aggression spontaneously, THAT capability will
remain with you, and will be doable also for the rest of your life.

––– e n d –––

©Copyright 2018 by Bradley J. Steiner - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.