What is Close Combat Training?

Here’s a “sneak preview” of the incredible secrets you’ll learn when you watch these DVD’s:

• How to toss ANY man right on his head… and break his arm on the way down if you choose to do so. (I don’t care if you only weigh 90 pounds soaking wet, either…as you’ll see, your physical size has nothing to do with it.)
• A 2-hit combination GUARANTEED to shatter your attacker’s jaw… every single time. (Six months of dental surgery and he MIGHT be able to talk and actually stand trial.)
• Incredible military tricks that will take you from absolute rookie to a master fighter in just a few short hours.
• Why a simple change in your mindset will mean the difference between being the prey or being the predator when surrounded by thugs, gang members and other scum on the street.
• How to take a strong, oversized man down easily… without using any fancy grappling or wrestling moves.
• How to break up the most common street attacks with a single, simple move. (Instantly “cancels out” anything an experienced street fighter can throw at you.)
• How to make someone who tries to choke you literally drown in his own spit. (Frankly, you have to see this one to believe it…it’s that incredible.)

James “Kenny” Booker. Dunn, North Carolina. Alternative School
“Here at alternative school sometimes you have to restrain a student who may have violent tendencies. I like to be able to move quickly and with authority and get control of the physical part of the situation before it gets out of hand. I have already used what I learned from Close Combat Training system to defend myself. I also learned that by recognizing a student’s body language I can stop a situation before it escalates into something worse.”

Martin Joergensen. Afseth, Norway
“The most important thing is that I have gradually become stronger and more physically fit than I could have ever thought possible! It doesn’t take much time and effort to get in great shape. Your corporation is very professional, and deals with businesses efficiently. It’s great that you guys are getting the “martial” back in martial arts.”

The Case for Combat Training

Assault. Rape. Violence. War. Oppression. Prisoner. These are words that could be associated with time when leaders of countries went all wrong. Looking back in time, there are many instances of oppression against people; sometimes entire races or cultures of people. These people went through unspeakable horrors, and help was too far off for them. Alas, help did finally arrive and these times of oppression ceased; for the time.

The world can be an ugly place. But the words that began this article do not belong in the world you live in. You have the right to experience Life. Freedom. Safety. These are the words that belong in our society. Today, there are people who wish to take those rights from you. It is not our government; not in a direct manner, anyway. But danger does lurk in societies all over the world in the way of sexual predators, drug lords and gang members. Violence is a part of our lives; which means that self defense should also be a part of our lives.

There is a lot that can be learned from our forefathers; especially the generation that lived through World War II. The brave men that fought for the rights and freedoms of others found that the weapons that they were issued did not always meet the specific needs of the scenarios they found themselves in. Because of their unique situations, combat self defense came into being. The hand to hand combat training that has been developed over the years is not only good for men and women in the military. Today, this type of training can be obtained by anyone who wishes to take their safety seriously.

History is always important, so let’s take a brief look at close combat training. This history will make you see why, after years of study all around the world, I still felt as though I learned the absolute most effective fighting when I came across this military self defense fighting style.

The history of combat self defense dates back to the the time of the Nazi’s. During the war against Hitler and his men, terrified diplomats gathered to determine the best way to protect their soldiers and eliminate the enemy. What came from their search was a mixed form of martial arts techniques developed from the different martial arts styles studied. You could say that the “combat engineers” of WWII were the first mixed martial artists on the scene.

The funny thing is that, although combat fighting was developed through a study of martial arts; combat self defense really is not about martial arts moves at all. Combat fighting is about survival. Period. What the men of WWII found in their time of putting martial arts under the microscope is that there is no one single type of fighting that gave them the ultimate fighting advantage. Each style on its own carries a merit, as well as a fault. And when you are defending your life, there is no room for fault.

Why is this not completely easy to learn? Why, in today’s society, do you need to learn self defense? Why can’t you just learn martial arts and have that be that? These are great questions; and ones that deserve answers. In fact, without answers, you could find yourself spinning your wheels and essentially unable to protect yourself if you come face to face with danger.

The Body’s Response to Danger

You’ve heard of “Fight or Flight”. This “fight or flight response” is the body’s primitive, automatic, inborn response that prepares the body to “fight” or “flee” from perceived attack, harm or threat. However, there is a third option to fight or flight, and that is to freeze. Why this is not made clear in unclear. Knowing what happens in the body when it is under great stress is a key factor when you set out to learn self defense.

The Fight or Flight response is hard-wired into our brains. It shows off our genetic wisdom that was designed to protect us from bodily harm. It is a response that occurs naturally; and when it does, you are powerless to resist it. For this reason, it is wise to learn self defense techniques that will work along with this natural response. The Fight or Flight response is also called an Adrenaline Dump by experts in the field of self defense training. However, the response releases chemicals like cortisol and noradrenaline into the blood stream as well.

During this physical response to extreme stress, you notice an increase in respiratory rate. Your heart starts pumping incredibly fast. Blood is directed away from the digestive tract and directed into the limbs and muscles. They way the body sees it, this is where the energy is needed in order to stay alive. In Fight or Flight, the awareness intensifies and sight sharpens. This is invaluable when you learn how to use these senses properly. The body’s perception of pain also diminishes in extremely stressful situations.

It’s easy to come to the conclusion that Fight or Flight will help you get out of a dangerous situation. While this is true, it is not the entire truth. See, an adrenaline dump has a scale. There are rates at which your senses respond incredibly to stress; and rates where your body is going so hard that you cannot think straight; your hearing diminishes, and you lose your peripheral vision. Essentially, one of the best self defense tactics there is is to harness this natural response and use it to your advantage.

Martial arts training, while great for focus and fitness, may not have the essentials that teach you how to react properly to the body’s natural response to stress. When faced with danger, this response will be real and it will be sudden and it will be strong. It is important that you do not take the feeling as fear. This is what the mind will want to do. When your mouth goes dry, your legs shake and your stomach is flipping somersaults, what else would you think but that you are scared to death?

With the proper self defense training (sometimes misspelled self defence training), you can learn to look at the adrenaline dump with thankfulness. It is there to help you get through a fight with the necessary energy to outwit and outlast your enemy. It is not fear; it is a natural physiological response that is meant to help you survive. Self defense is about survival, remember?

Training in Self Defense

Clearly, to protect yourself against an attack, it is necessary to train. But train in what? Can martial arts self defense fit the bill when it comes to fighting for your life? With the ability to learn using a martial arts DVD, does this provide a viable option? The answer, according to the men of WWII, would be no.

It is not that martial arts are ineffective completely; it is that one form is not completely effective. Let’s say that you master Brazilian Jiu-Jistu. You would then be highly effective at fighting on the ground. This form of martial art teaches you to focus on getting your attacker to the ground and getting him to submit. This is great, unless your attacker has a knife. Let’s say you have mastered Muay Thai kickboxing. You are almost deadly on your feet. However, if your attacker knocks you down from behind, what are you going to do?

As you can see, training is important; but the type of training is also important. Without the right kind of combat style self defense in your toolbox, you may be ineffective at fighting an attacker. Also, without the right amount of practice, you miss out on another essential aspect of self defense: the mind.

Self defense is easy to learn. You can pick up moves using self defense videos or a self defense DVD. But moves are only one part of the total self defense package. There is more to defending yourself or your family than knowing how to throw a punch or a kick. Does this mean that you should not pick up a good self defense video to learn how to fight your way out of an attack? No. These tools provide you with a huge aspect of personal safety: the actual techniques. So get them, use them. But don’t stop there.

In order to defend yourself or your loved ones from danger, you must know how crimes happen in the first place. There is a simple formula; and it can save your life if you learn it and rally against it. That formula is Criminal + Victim + Opportunity = Crime. You do not deserve to be victimized. Nobody does. However, if you leave the window of opportunity open just the tiniest bit, you do run a very real risk of becoming a victim.

Crime statistics are staggering. In the United States alone, an assault of some kind occurs every 10 seconds. Every 46 seconds, in the United States alone, there is a burglary taking place. 1 out of every 5 families will become a victim of crime each year – in the United States alone. Can you imagine what the worldwide statistics would be? Startling.

To protect yourself against victimization; you must acknowledge that there is a risk. These statistics prove that. When you know there is a risk, you can become more alert to danger. Ignoring the possibility of danger, even if you were to receive training in self defense and know the moves to use, is a great way to become a target.

There are ways to avoid becoming a target of crime. Learning them, along with effective self defense moves, greatly increases your chances of making it through your life without the trauma of a serious attack. That is why, in our blog, we will cover ways to avoid danger in every place from your home to work to the grocery store.

This is just one part of the self defense mindset. Self defense is really a lifestyle. In WWII, when combat self defense tactics were first being developed, soldiers used their senses on the battlefield. Sadly, today you and I must learn to use our senses in our everyday life. Crime is about opportunity, and opportunity can be anywhere. Danger does not live on the battlefield, nor does it live only in dark alleys in the bad part of town. Danger could come knocking on your door or crawling through your window. For me and my wife, danger came driving up right next to us.

Crime also has no rules. Unlike the boxing ring or the martial arts mat; crime does not consist of chosen strikes and responses. When a violent crime occurs, you will be caught off guard unless you have honed your senses and maintain an awareness at all times.

Crime is somewhat like the jungle. There are predators and there is prey. The prey, like an innocent little rabbit, is caught unaware by the hungry hunter that pounces from out of sight. There is no need for you to be the prey. In fact, by learning the self defense tactics that Close Combat Training teaches, you can actually become the hunter yourself. This does not mean that you go looking for danger. What it means is that you, through training and awareness and practice, can walk through your life knowing that you have the ability to turn on the predator stalking you and turn them into the rabbit running from YOU.

Every single person deserves to feel safe. Personal safety is your right. However, you have to protect this right. Freedom. Safety. Life. These are rights that are your responsibility to insist upon. There is no one that will protect you and your loved ones as well as you can. Through proper self defense training and practice; you can actively insist that your right to safety is never taken from you. It is yours to enjoy; and yours to ensure.