Vagabond Warriors One-to-One (diary entry)

  20.09.14 This is the first of a series of Vagabond Warriors Cross Training sessions for my new client. The client has a long background in traditional karate and is currently training in American/Japanese kickboxing. He has an excellent private gym set up in his back garden that can be put to excellent use on this programme. My new client’s objective is to develop a more functional range of techniques. Lessons will be somewhat sporadic due to my client’s schedule, but this is the beauty of the CCMA method. Reports such as this and having regular contact me with between lessons ensures my client will have access to my advice, ideas for personal training routines and links to various resources. After an initial discussion, we decided to follow the general Vagabond Warriors seminar outline of looking at a base self-defence tactic and then train variations found in martial arts. We began with a look at the basic fence concept. As explained to my client this “crisis point” comes at the end of personal security training, involving states of awareness, attitude, psychology, the physiology of fear, criminology and aspects of the law directly relating to self-protection. However, this course is not primarily concerned with self-protection <as=">as" this="this" one="one" is="is</a>">, so these topics were only touched upon. We looked at the way a fence he used in a social situation. In essence you protect your personal space in a natural way; understanding that once a distance point is breached by a confirmed threat the pre-emptive attack must be initiated.   The fence provides us with some good universal points regarding structure. It must be natural and adaptive. I emphasise flexibility in all postures, not giving away attacking tactics. Standing at 45 degrees is also a very important concept that can be applied to most tactics. It inhibits your enemy or opponent’s attack and defence, and sets them up to be unbalanced. We then looked at mobility through taking an angle and brought this into footwork agility exercises. We then looked at the straight hand striking mechanics, first from a self-defence perspective and then from a boxing/kickboxing perspective. Here we covered the importance of elastic force over plastic force, placing just as much importance on retracting the striking limb as sending it towards a target. Next we took the principles of striking and moving through the various different postures from standing to the ground and also the distinction between grappling standing and striking standing.

  We also focused on attack and defence, using the CCMA proactive pad-drill. For a round the fighter hits the focus mitts as he sees them, responding only to visual stimulation. The second round was defence only, the fighter covering, parrying and evading only. The third round brings these attacks and defence together. This training helps over-ride hesitation and gets the striker to retain his guard.