If we take into account that in a physical altercation whether it is in military combat, law enforcement related or civilian self-defense you may have to shift gears.  What do I mean by this?  Basically in a combative situation you have areas of combat ie. weapons/tools, kicking, hand strikes, trapping and joint manipulation and grappling.  We also have range or distance to deal with in that at any time we may be at short-range or very close, medium-range out to hand strikes or some kicking and or long-range with kicking, weapons, etc.  If someone is twenty-five feet away from us and firing a handgun in our direction we are at a long-range.  Our defensive mindset and skills will have to deal with this distance and if we have only prepared for dealing with empty hands or close range weapons/tools like a knife we may be in serious trouble.  As a martial practitioner I believe it is important to be able to shift between range and skill sets when necessary.  If you notice that your opponent is really good in close then you may want to move to a longer range and utilize skills to negate his ability in close.  Likewise if you are a beast inside at grappling and at this short-range you may want to take it there.  However, what if your opponent keeps you at a distance and you simply cannot get close?  What do you do?  You need the ability to shift gears and dominant in another area.  Personally I am a specialist in a few areas.  In those areas I have supreme confidence in my abilities to take care of myself.  However, I am also a generalist in other combative areas of personal protection.  So if one thing doesn’t immediately work I can shift and move onto some thing else.  This is really important for a martial practitioner interested in real world self-defense and personal protection skills.  It is essential in my opinion.  Make sure that you have the ability to shift gears when needed and hopefully you will always be able to protect yourself and your loved ones!

See You On The Mats!!!

Brian R. VanCise

Note: This blog is opinion only and neither Instinctive Response Training LLC or Brian R. VanCise are responsible for any third party actions.

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