TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Kelly McCann ..............................................................ix

VOLUME I: PRINCIPLES AND TACTICS

Chapter 1: Basic Principles of Close Combat .......................... 3 Simplicity Control Offense Power Effectiveness Chapter 2: Aggressive Attitude .................................................... 9 Chapter 3: Modes of Attack ........................................................ 15 Stop-Hit Chapter 4: Principles of Power .................................................. 21 Stay Relaxed Weapon First Acceleration Move Plunge Chapter 5: Circle of Defense ...................................................... 27 Chapter 6: Primary Targets ........................................................ 29 Eyes Throat Fork Knees

VOLUME II: STANCE AND MOVEMENT

Chapter 1: The Guard .................................................................. 37 Chapter 2: Passive Stances .......................................................... 41 Bodyguard Jack Benny Ed Sullivan The Fence Chapter 3: Movement .................................................................. 47 Advance and Retreat Pivot Shuffle Lunge Vault Whirling
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Volume I

Principles and Tactics

CHAPTER 1

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CLOSE COMBAT

This action is simple, but it must be fast, automatic, a conditioned reflex. When fighting fiercely for your life, you have not got much time to think and the more automatic movements and reactions you have prepared for your defence, the safer the result will be. Dr. Gordon E. Perrigard, 1943

When you find yourself in a violent attack situation, there are certain principles to which you should adhere. To make things as simple and as easy to understand and retain as possible, I have placed these principles into five categories that can be identified by the acronym SCOPE. The five categories are as follows: Simplicity Control Offense Power Effectiveness SIMPLICITY Simplicity in close combat can be defined as keeping the techniques as basic and simple as is practically possi3

Volume I: Principles and Tactics

ble, with one technique flowing into the next without any excessive movement. Studies done during World War II showed that when a person is put into an extremely high-stress situation, they tend to lose all fine motor skills, develop tunnel vision, and experience auditory exclusion. With these in mind, we have to wonder if complex body movements are really practical for violent attacks. If the answer is no, then we must remove these fine-motor-skill techniques from our closecombat curriculum. When a violent attack occurs, you will not have time to think about what to do. Your body will react instinctively with what is most familiar. And what it will be most familiar with is what it has been practicing the most. Therefore, it is not advantageous to learn 100 different techniques for 100 different self-defense scenarios. A handful of basic techniques that become second nature is far superior to a truckload that have to be thought about. Remember that it is better to know 10 techniques at 100 percent efficiency than 100 techniques at 10 percent efficiency. Training with excessive numbers of moves will just become confusing to the individual who is learning these techniques. A violent confrontation is not the time to stand around trying to figure out what to do. The body must react swiftly and decisively. This can only be achieved by the constant drilling of simple, basic techniques. CONTROL The main objective of any violent confrontation, whether on the street or the battlefield, is to gain and maintain complete control of the situation. An assailants goal is to get control of his victim. Once this is accomplished, he can do anything he wants with

Basic Principles of Close Combat

him. Our goal should be to reverse that situation and to do so as soon as possible. The longer the assailant has control, the better the chances of your losing it forever. How do we gain control? Simpleyou must become everything your assailant is and much, much more so. If he is aggressive, you must become more aggressive. If he is ruthless, you must become more ruthless. If he is animalistic, you must become more animalistic. These miscreants who prey on the weak and innocent dont understand begging, pleading, and reasoning. They actually feed their egos off those things. What they do understand is what they are: violent. And violent is what you have to be to survive their assault. OFFENSE Once you have made the decision to defend yourself, you must immediately go on the offensive. Take a good look at the results of the battles that this country has been involved in, and you will you find that they were won by offense. A good example of this would be the Pacific theater of World War II. The Japanese were dug into their strongholds, ready to defend themselves and the property they occupied. The Marines hit the beaches and kept driving forward with a merciless offensive attack that defeated the enemy on island after island. The Marines hit them hard, fast, and continuously until they fell under our offensive onslaught. This has been a Marine Corps tactic since its inception. When attacked, go on the attack. Put the offenders on the defense and keep them there until they are no longer a threat. When attacked by an assailant who is out to harm you, dont try to defend yourself. Go immediately on the offensive. Remember, in close combat there is no such thing as

Volume I: Principles and Tactics

defense. There is only attack and counterattack. When involved in a violent situation, you are literally at war with the enemy. War calls for extreme measures. After all, the bottom line is your life. Therefore, when its time to defend, go immediately on the offensive and stay on the offensive until your assailant loses his will to continue the assault. POWER Execute each technique with all the explosive power you can muster and keep executing them until the assailant is under your control. Why does the sport of boxing have weight classes? Simply because of the power a heavier man possesses. A heavier man is at an advantage to knock out a lighter opponent. Of course, there are other factors involved, such as speed, conditioning, skill, and will. But even with these factors thrown in, its usually power that decides the final outcome. Its the power blows that take a toll on a boxer. Its the power blows that put the opponent down and out for the count. And its the power blows that we should be employing in our close-combat techniques. Trying to wear an opponent down for the final blow is asking for trouble. What youre actually doing by playing pit-a-pat is giving him opportunity after opportunity to counterattack and defeat you. Once again, you want to hit him hard, fast, and continuously until he is no longer a threat. Striking vital areas as hard and fast as you can hit them is the only sure way to a successful defense. EFFECTIVENESS Only use techniques that have been proven effective in close combat.

Basic Principles of Close Combat

The violent confrontation is not the time and place for experimentation. You better be sure that the techniques you are using are effective. The best way to be sure is by using only those methods that have already been tested on the streets and battlefields. We live in a very good age for learning effective combative techniques. The hard, dangerous work has already been done for us. Those who already have experimented, and were successful, have passed these techniques down to us. It is up to us whether we want to take that step of faith and believe these techniques to be true, or practice something else and have doubts about the ability to defend ourselves. Is there a guarantee that these techniques will work every time? No. Assaults are never exactly the same. Each time there will be different factors involved. No one can predict exactly how, when, where, and under what conditions someone will be attacked. That is why it is of the utmost importance to understand the basic principles of close combat and to be ready to implement them at any given time. By keeping your techniques basic and simple, immediately going on the offense to gain and maintain control, and employing battlefield-proven techniques as fast and hard as you can deliver them, your chances of surviving a violent attack will dramatically increase.