Get Out!

Ending Violence the Bartitsu Way 4 (click for part 3: To The Pain!)

Here’s what we’ve covered so far:

1. Guarding the Mark: Fight ends due to inability to breathe or other life-threatening problem
2. The Knockout: Fight ends because they are rendered unconscious and cannot continue
3. To The Pain!: Fight ends when every movement (or any leg movement) causes such extreme pain that they cannot continue

And that leaves us with one final topic for this series: They physically can’t reach you, find you or attack in any way.  

Walk in the Middle of the Road

One of the first pieces of advice Barton-Wright gave on the topic of avoiding dangerous situations was to “walk in the middle of the road.” It sounds like a philosophical stance, meaning that one should be moderate, but his meaning was purely practical. A person walking on the sidewalk can be surprised from an alley, a door, or from behind. When he is assaulted by surprise, the victim cannot move in that direction to escape, but may be pinned to the wall, which is a severe disadvantage.

Our first goal in Bartitsu is to avoid violence. We want to end it as soon as possible (which is the spirit of this series of articles), and we’d like it not to start in the first place. One tactic is to be aware of one’s surroundings and not walk into danger.

There are an infinite number of little pieces of advice, and every situation is different. The key to remaining safe using awareness is simply to train your senses and keep your attention outwards. There’s no reason to be paranoid, and nervousness will only contract your attention. When you become scared, you get a kind of tunnel vision in which you can detect details better, but lose peripheral vision. To broaden your attention, stay relaxed and actively look and listen. That means no earphones in questionable situations.

Aside: I always wear earphones, and I love them. However, I would not wear them in a dangerous neighbourhood or a place I’ve never been. Also, I don’t listen to loud music, I listen to news and other spoken podcasts, so I can hear my surroundings easily.

For the historians, I normally quote books from the Victorian/Edwardian period, but I’ve found no better advice for personal safety than Attack Proof by John Perkins. In this practical manual, he uses the first chapter to explain general awareness and scanning, delves into specific scenarios such as carjacking, and also suggests several exercises.

Running Away

If you’re at a distance from your assailant (before or after an attack) and you think you can outrun them, do so.

Some of our techniques are designed to give us room to escape. The throw in particular leaves your opponent on the ground, giving you a head start in running away.

The epitome of running away is the art of Parkour, and David Belle is one of its founders and exemplars:

A few principles to keep in mind:

• It’s your life versus their ego. They can find another victim, but you can’t find another incarnation.
• Ditch the bag, but not your weapon.
• Get visible, make noise.

Standing your Ground

Escape by running is not always practical. The judgment of whether you can outrun your attacker depends entirely on your perception. Don’t make the mistake of turning your back to someone who can tackle you.

If you begin to run and your assailant is catching up, stop and face them again. Running away makes you prey, but it also gives you better control over your surroundings and the direction the attack will come from. Run to a place you know better. If there are two ruffians, merely running 10 paces will mean they cannot surround you. When you turn to face them, they’ll have to avoid each other to get to you.

There’s one other aspect to standing your ground: psychology and ethics. You may have a mental block preventing you from running. It’s your ego. Get over it.

A more important reason not to run is the morality of escaping in specific circumstances. Avoidance is not immoral in itself. However, running away when you should be protecting a weaker party is. Don’t take a stand for your belongings; give them your wallet. Do take a stand against bastards who hurt people.

Naturally, there are many shades of grey, and that’s all the more reason to keep your head and not panic. You need to judge whether it’s important to fight or flee. Fear can motivate either.

Getting All A’s

My Bartitsu has five component parts, and you need “All A’s” to truly succeed:

• Avoidance: Getting out of danger, preferably before it happens
• Awareness: Perceiving escape routes, perceiving danger, and perceiving advantage within a fight.
• Alignment: Staying in balance and upright, both physically and mentally
• Action: Choosing the optimum 
• Adaptability: Using the tools at hand, and able to change with changing circumstances.

(Go back to part 3: To The Pain!)

Don’t miss our Introduction to Bartitsu workshop this Saturday, 10 December. In four hours, we’ll learn the basics of the four weapons of this Victorian self-defence style: Boxing, Savate, Jujitsu and the iconic Walking Stick.

01. December 2011 by admin
Categories: Historical Accuracy | Leave a comment

To the Pain!

Ending Violence the Bartitsu Way 3 (click for part 2: The Knockout)

In my first post in this series, I introduced the exhaustive list of ways to stop an attacker:

1. Knockout: they are rendered unconscious and cannot continue (The Knockout)
2. Overwhelming pain: every movement (or any leg movement) causes such extreme pain that they cannot continue
3. Inability to move or attack: whether you remove yourself, or lock them in a closet, they cannot attack 
4. Inability to breathe or other life-threatening problem: most assailants will not cross a fire just to attack you, and they need to breathe to live. (Guarding the Mark)

And we’ve covered two of those ways already: A punch to the pit of the stomach or solar plexus (called the Mark) will compress the diaphragm and cause the assailant to gasp for air; and the punch to the side of the chin, which can lead to a knockout.

Today, we’re discussing pain as a discouraging factor.

Punishment

I could write a book on the topic of righteous indignation as a cause of violence. I’ll try to keep this brief.

In sport fighting matches like boxing, commentators often use the phrase, “He can take a lot of punishment,” and that word is more appropriate than most realize.

Essentially, anger is an emotional response to a moral violation. If someone has done something ethically wrong and it harms you or your group, you become angry. The natural inclination is to punish the wrongdoer, which is also a convenient outlet for your anger. The rationalization is to “teach them a lesson,” but when moral outrage leads to physical rage, it is not punishment but retribution.

Most of us realize that revenge is not morally justifiable, so we try to avoid hitting people when they commit wrongful acts. We talk to the offender to convince them of their wrongdoing, or we talk to others and socially enforce our shared values by harming their reputation.

The trickiest situation is when you are physically attacked. That is both an ethical violation and a physical threat, so the response cannot be only vocal. Your body will naturally react with heightened heart rate and adrenaline, your face will flinch and your arms will cover where you are struck. The attacker must be stopped. But does he need to be physically punished?

Morally, the answer is no. However, two great forces conspire against your better judgment. The first is the aforementioned physical reaction which can overwhelm rational decision making, and your anger is part of that reaction. The other is the belief that overwhelming pain will discourage further attacks.

From Philosophy to Psychology

Is it true that pain can end a fight? The answer seems obvious, until one recognizes that pain is also a motivator to continue. If pain incites anger and the desire to attack and at the same time enervates the body’s fighting systems, how can pain be used for the opposite effect?

Nervous?

It may surprise you to learn that the limits of your flexibility (into the splits or touching your toes) is due to your nerves trying to protect your joints before you reach the actual limit. In other words, the pain prevents you from achieving your desired performance.

Anyone who has experienced a “charley horse” or painful leg cramp from a strike or exertion knows that it is extremely difficult to stand or use the muscle for anything. In my experience, the spasm of a leg cramp is painful enough to prevent me from thinking of anything other than massaging the limb for relief.

What techniques or tactics can elicit that level of response?

The Ground

In stage combat, it is well known that more injuries are incurred by the stage floor than by swords. In Bartitsu, we learn breakfalls before any throws because safely hitting the ground is critical to avoiding injury.

Advantages:

• The ground is everywhere, and apart from the dojo, it is hard.
• Gravity will help you
• Falling hard on the middle of the back will knock the wind out, causing the same effects as hitting the Mark.
• To prevent hitting one’s head during a fall, most people use their hands and elbows, and injuries to the arms can dissuade further punches and grabs
• If you can remain standing while your attacker must recover their feet, you have either a head start in running away, breathing room to reassess the situation, or openings for further kicks.

Tactic 1: Throw your assailant forcefully so that the ground does the damage for you.

Pressure Points

In jujitsu, striking nerve clusters to cause intense pain or temporary paralysis is called Atemi.

As we discussed in the previous article about The Knockout, precise striking to small targets is not a reliable tactic. But when it works, it works like a charm.

The chin and the Mark are both considered targets for Atemi-waza. Other high-percentage targets include the point just below the nose (used primarily to push away from a bear-hug), the throat, the kidneys and the groin.

The kneecap and the shin are targets that are overlooked in traditional jujitsu. We use the low kicks of Savate to efficiently strike these sensitive regions. It has two associated effects:

1. The natural reaction to a hit in the lower leg is to crouch or bend over, which can lead effectively to throws (see previous section on the Ground). Even avoiding a low kick by quickly moving the feet is destabilizing.
2. If the knee is sufficiently damaged, the assailant cannot continue attacking because they cannot stand or pursue you. Walk away.

Tactic 2: Strike vital points.

Joint Locks

Twisting or extending joints beyond their normal range can be extremely painful. Every part of the body that articulates has a range of motion beyond which the nerves will scream to avoid further damage to ligaments and connective tissue. The body will often react spontaneously with motion in the direction of relief, even to the point of falling to the ground, since impact bruising heals more quickly than torn tendons.

The problem with joint locks is that you must maintain contact in order to maintain the pressure. Unless the joint is actually broken – easier said than done – the pain will subside quickly and the attacker will continue.

Furthermore, as we saw in the previous article, one does not want to maintain contact with an attacker in case their allies begin attacking.

Tactic 3: Manipulate joints past the point of pain.

One special warning: In jujitsu classes and our Bartitsu class, one “taps out” to indicate the pain threshhold so one isn’t injured in class. In a self-defence situation when your life is threatened, don’t let them go just because they tap.

Strategy

Overall, the Bartitsu fighting strategy is to strike using weapons according to their range (walking stick, kicks and punches), especially toward the best targets: the chin, nose, throat, mark, knees and shins, until a throw becomes available.

Using this strategy, pain may end the fight, but it is also likely that a more effective tactic will prevail: knocking the wind out of them, or knocking them out.

If you’re attacked, your anger may tempt you to punish the offender. Remember that your goal is to end the violence and escape the situation, not revenge. The longer you stay in a fight to cause pain, the more your opponent will fight back and the more likely you are to tire or to fall prey to other attackers. Use pain as a tactic only.

(Go back to part 2: The Knockout)

27. October 2011 by admin
Categories: Historical Accuracy | Leave a comment

The Knockout

Ending Violence the Bartitsu Way 2 (click for part 1: Guarding the Mark)

Last time, we discussed the hit to the mark, and why it is important to guard the mark. This week, we’re going straight to the most impressive fight-finisher, and the event most people associate with boxing: the knockout punch.

Regarding the knockout punch, let us again get the opinions of the experts of their time:

Boxing by R. G. Allanson-Winn (1889)

pp.54-55

“I suppose more men have been knocked out of time by hits on the point of the jaw than by all the other hits put together. When this hit is delivered on either side of the chin and a little upwards a very severe shock is communicated to the head and base of the brain, and the reason for this is that the distance between the point of application of the blow and the pivot on which the head works is considerable.

“The ‘pint o’ the jaw hit’ is a horrid head-jerking affair, compared with which a flush hit on the nose, with all its concomitant stars and stripes, is a mere fleabite. Even a moderate infliction of this terrible hit is sufficiently punishing to make you feel uncertain whether you are twisting round the surroundings, or the surroundings are twisting round you, or whether both are not waltzing away together; but a severe visitation, if it does not break the jaw, is likely to produce and absence of interest in subsequent proceedings, or a complete forgetfulness of all immediate and pressing engagements.”

This instructor put the knockout blow first in order of merit, before the hit to the mark, which we discussed in the first post in this series.

Jiu Jitsu and Other Methods of Self Defense by Percy Longhurst (1906)

pp. 85

“if one assailant be badly hurt, knocked senseless by a well-directed blow on the point of the jaw, or thrown hard on the pavement by a clever stroke, the moral effect on his companions is immense.”

Scientific Boxing by James J. Corbett (1912) 

pp.71

“The KNOCKOUT BLOW

“What is known as the knockout punch is landed on the jaw usually on the side. It can be delivered from the side or in front. The force of the blow necessary to produce unconsciousness depends upon two things —- the jaw that is hit and the power of the blow. A comparatively light punch will be sufficient for the average untrained man, while there are some professional boxers whom it is almost impossible to knock out, because of the strength and formation of their jaws.”

The Off Switch

The knockout is a concussion, and therefore a form of brain damage. “Concussion” means “to shake violently or strike together” and the thing they’re talking about is the brain against the skull. The only treatment is rest.

Why does it work? Current research points to the rotation of the skull as a major component. Concussions can also occur from linear hits to the front or back of the head, but are far more frequent when the head turns. Since the jaw can act as a lever to turn the head (better than the nose, the cartilage of which can compress and move), a hit to the side of the jaw deals the appropriate vector for a knockout.

In class, we do not practice taking hits to the head, because no one “gets better” at absorbing brain damage. A person cam improve their responses to punches to avoid being hit, so we do train punches toward the face and the correct reactions. However, we do not condone knockout punches in class, because every concussion is worse than the last and can lead to serious brain damage.

The Flinch

Training in boxing need not emphasize guarding the face from the knockout punch because the flinch response is so natural and effective. When anything approaches the eyes rapidly, the instinctive and immediate response is to evade the head and raise the hands to ward the blow away.

This partly explains why most knockouts in boxing and MMA occur from low hooks and uppercuts: the eyes do not see the approaching fist, circumventing the flinch response.

The Knockout as Strategy

There is no doubt when witnessing a knockout that it is effective at stopping the fight. Whether “out cold” with eyes closed and seemingly asleep, or lying supine and dizzy, that combatant is no longer attacking.

On the other hand, due to the flinch response, and the relatively small size of the target, it is not a particularly effective strategy. Look at how many professional boxing matches and MMA bouts end in knockouts… not many. Multiple blows to the temples, cheeks, neck and head do not stop a fight, and that’s what you’ll hit every time you miss the jaw (if you do not miss entirely). When the opportunity presents itself, it can be brutally effective. But a prepared fighter will not give you that opportunity.

Boxing Tactics

Train to guard your jaw and the mark. Your head can easily move to avoid the worst blows. On the offensive, change up between high and low strikes. The Bartitsu way is to get close enough to throw the assailant to the ground while remaining standing yourself. With this strategy, you can accomplish:

1. Causing the attacker harm from the fall (the ground is better than your fist)
2. Running away while he struggles to stand
3. Fight off other attackers
4. Demoralize the assailant and leave them open to further strikes as they regain their feet.

In Bartitsu, we try to avoid going to the ground. Here is why:

Next time, we’ll discuss the remaining ways of Ending Violence the Bartitsu Way.

(Go back to part 1: Guarding the Mark)

Don’t miss the next Introduction to Bartitsu workshop coming up this Saturday, 8 October. In four hours, we’ll learn the basics of the four weapons of this Victorian self-defence style: Boxing, Savate, Jujitsu and the iconic Walking Stick.

07. October 2011 by admin
Categories: Historical Accuracy | Leave a comment

Guarding the Mark

Here’s a lively discussion from the Bartitsu society, addressing a question that I get a lot… actually the question comes from quizzical looks when I talk about guarding the mark during the Introduction to Bartitsu. It can be phrased as this forum user did:

Peter Thomas:
I have been reading The Art of Boxing (William Edwards) and Boxing (R.G Allanson-Win) and a lot of emphasise (sic) is placed on guarding the Mark with your rear arm.

I was wondering what everyone’s views are on this as I have never really thought much about it in any other styles I have practised. Also, in the majority of street fights that I have witnessed, most of the attacks are aimed at the head and any body shots tend to be just wild swings with no particular target. I understand though that a good hit to the mark can end the fight a lot quicker than one to the face.

Is guarding the mark so important in a street defence situation? Or is it just something to worry about against a trained fighter in the ring?

Thanks,
Pete

The questions “What is the mark?” And “Is it really important to guard it?” are important to understanding historical scientific boxing. There are references in every period book on pugilism, as summarized here:

Kirk Lawson:

OK, here is a *very* quick “survey” drawn from some of the manuals I’ve repubbed (or have local digital access to for simple word searching).

The Mark

“The Art of In-Fightin,” Frank Kaus, 1913
Fig. 7 – “The In-Fighter’s most Deadly Punch: the Right Drive to the pit of the Stomach” pp34
“The In-Fighter’s most Deadly Punch.
This is undoubtedly the most deadly in-fighting punch possible, and means decisive victory if properly administered. In trying for this, however, it must be remembered that a right may come along and upset our plan. Therefore the left is brought up to the opponent’s chin almost simultaneously with the right drive to the mark. If successful the left jolt should send your man’s head back, a movement which causes the muscles of his stomach to relax.”

“Boxing,” R.G. Allanson-Winn, 1915
pp10
“…the mark, i.e. over the pit of the stomach, just above the belt, where a severe blow may do so much damage.”
Illustration: “GUARD FOR LEFT-HAND HIT AT MARK” shows the forearm barring the pit of the stomach (not the solar plex.).

“The Art and Practice of Boxing,” A Celebrated Pugilist, 1825
pp7
“the pit of your stomach, which is called the MARK”
Illustration: “Defense of the Face and Pit of the Stomach.” shows the forearm barring high, roughly at Solar Plex. level.

“The Art of Boxing,” Richard K. Fox Publishing Company, 1913
pp11
“Easily balanced on your feet, the right arm should be across the “mark” (that point where the ribs begin to arch)”

“Boxing,” ‘Philadelphia’ Jack O’Brien, 1928
pp38
“at the same time driving the left fist to the “mark,” which is the depression just beneath the breast-bone.”
Plate 10 – “Charlie Wolpert parries my left and shoots his left to the mark.” shows a verticle punch to the Solar Plex.

“Boxing,” Edwin Haislet, 1940
pp22
“The “mark” is the boxing term used to designate the solar plexus.”

“Doran’s Science of Self Defense,” Bart J. Doran, 1889
pp56
“LEFT-HAND LEAD FOR THE “MARK.”
Spring in, bend forward at the hips, case your head well to the right and cast your right shoulder well back and land your left upon his diaphragm.”

“The Art of Boxing and Manual of Training,” Billy Edwards, 1888
pp47
“Raise your right forearm from the elbow and throw it across the chest so that the middle joint of the thumb, when shut on the fingers, is about the region of the nipple of the left breast, and its direction runs along the right “divide” of the ribs. The spot from whence the ribs branch off the breast-bone to either side is generally known as “the mark,” and is the most vulnerable of all the region below the neck.”

“Treatise Upon The Useful Science Of Defense,” Captain John Godfrey, 1747
“GRETTING had the nearest [sic. neatest?] Way of going to the Stomach (which is what they call the Mark) of any Man I knew.”

“How to Box,” ‘A Professional Boxer’, 1882 (plagairism from Ned Donnelly)
pp15
“The right arm should be across the “mark” (that point where the ribs begin to arch)”

“The Modern Art of Boxing,” Daniel Mendoza (assumed), 1789 (estimated)
pp30
“The MARK. The pit of the stomach. So called, from its being the object at which a stroke most likely will put an end to a battle can be aimed.”

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

Outside of the historical advice, what does the modern practitioner, the neo-Bartitsu experimenters, have to say? Here’s one anecdote:

Zsolt:
I know a guy who worked as a bouncer in the night. He told that once he hit a guy 3 times down to the ground using punch to the face, and all the time after a little rest the guy just jumped up, and tried to attack again, so at the end he hit the guy on the mark. The guy collapsed, and laid on the ground for a nice amount of time, and he didn’t wanted to attack anymore.

The way I explain it is fairly simple. In the following discussion, I intend to be clinical and realistic, but some may find the frankness too graphic.

Stopping someone who is enraged can be done in very few ways.

1. Knockout: they are rendered unconscious and cannot continue
2. Overwhelming pain: every movement (or any leg movement) causes such extreme pain that they cannot continue
3. Inability to move or attack: whether you remove yourself, or lock them in a closet, they cannot attack
4. Inability to breathe or other life-threatening problem: most assailants will not cross a fire just to attack you, and they need to breathe to live.

The reference to Karate Kid III is merely coincidental.

I think this list is fairly self-explanatory, and I’m fairly sure it is exhaustive. You cannot reason with an enraged person. Causing small amounts of pain will only fuel their anger. One of the only truly effective ways to stop an assailant who is actively attacking you is to cause their breathing apparatus to fail. We’ll deal with the other three in weeks to come.

Damage to the mouth and nose may eventually prevent breathing, but that requires massive destruction. Damage to the trachea, the breathing part of the throat, requires less force, but requires a precise hit. The lungs themselves are protected by the ribs and sternum. The only part left is the bottom of the breathing apparatus: the diaphragm.

The muscle that flexes and relaxes at the bottom the lungs, across the lower ribs, is the diaphragm, and when it smasms you hiccup. Hitting that muscle will not only cause an expulsion of breath, it will make the next efforts at breathing laborious and painful. Furthermore, the diaphragm is not well protected by the ribs, and a hit into the stomach compresses the entire region. It is a target that is large enough to hit consistently, effective enough to stop a fight, and civilized enough to be used by a gentleman.

Choke holds that prevent breathing are not effective when they are released because the attacker rapidly gets their breath back. If they are conscious and their trachea was not damaged, they will attack you again. A solid punch to the pit of the stomach or solar-plexus will give you time to escape while the assailant is struggling for breath. If you are holding them while they struggle for breath, you haven’t escaped the situation yet.

Breathing is only the most obvious life-threatening situation that will stop an attacker. Most assailants will not cross a fire just to attack you. They will not climb through barbed wire to attack you. These are not effective strategies in a street fight, but illustrate the point: if someone’s life is in danger, they will save themselves before continuing to attack you. Hitting the diaphragm is an unarmed technique that is easy to learn and works against even trained men — just ask Houdini (too soon?)

In future posts, I will discuss the merits and problems with the first three strategies. Today, it’s important to remember that an attacker who cannot breathe is a neutralized attacker.

Go to Part 2: The Knockout

Don’t miss the next Introduction to Bartitsu workshop coming up this Saturday, 8 October. In four hours, we’ll learn the basics of the four weapons of this Victorian self-defence style: Boxing, Savate, Jujitsu and the iconic Walking Stick.

06. October 2011 by admin
Categories: Historical Accuracy | Leave a comment