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Just imagine, a lovely Japanese garden with a monk - right out of the set of the Karate Kid - sitting under a waterfall meditating peacefully. Hold that thought for a minute…okay, now get rid of it! Quite frankly everyone who knows me well knows that I am no monk and the only thing that sitting under a waterfall gets you is WET! Instead of getting all “esoteric” on your ass, I am going to hip you all to some of the Zen tactics of one of the most successful basketball coaches of our time, Phil Jackson. Okay, okay, I hear some of you saying, “Phil who?” or “What’s basketball got to do with close quarter combatives?” Well, let me answer these questions first and then I’ll start to delve into the meat & potatoes of how Phil’s philosophy can help your existing fighting skills; these are the little gems that are so often hidden from us because many martial artists will only look to “likeminded” martial artists for fighting tips and advice. We all need to start thinking “outside the box” more often. In fact, that’s what gives us an edge- not conforming to the status quo.
Legendary Chicago Bulls coach, Phil Jackson – often referred to as the Zen Master – successfully led both the Bulls and the LA Lakers to numerous NBA championships; ten in total, to be precise. His coaching tactics went way beyond the technical or physical realm. In fact, Jackson developed a whole new paradigm of leadership based on Zen Buddhist philosophy, Native American principles, plain old Christianity and the school of hard knocks. Many would imagine that Phil did not really have a tough job due to the stable of amazing talented players he coached including Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc and Scottie Pippen, but the truth is, you can’t have a winning team if individually each player is show boating for their own self importance and personal gain. Some of Jackson’s strategies reveal how he persuaded his players to perform with a clear mind in the midst of chaos (sound familiar), enabling the team to apply controlled aggression on the court, understanding the enemy, how to become dispassionate towards your adversaries especially when they are trying to rile you up and most importantly his concept of turning the “me” into a servant of the “we.” Okay, I have now explained to you who Phil Jackson is and shown you the commonalities of his strategy and tactics in relation to close quarter combatives, so let’s get on with breaking down some of these cool gems that you can take away with you and apply them to your own style or system.
Michael Jordan showing off his superior attributes.
Albert Einstein once said, “Keep it simple, but not too simple.” I often use this line when teaching CQC because it is complete in its nature and does not dumb anything down, especially you. With similar brilliance Einstein also described his work as: “Number One: Out of clutter find simplicity. Number Two: From discord, discover harmony. Number Three: In the middle of chaos lies opportunity.” Jackson understood that in order for opportunity to be fostered out of chaos his players’ minds had to be clear in order for them to experience the present moment on the court. He achieved this through having them visualise a series of drills that outlined what’s going to happen during the game before the event even begins. This enables the player to react without thinking because they have already seen, rehearsed and then experienced the moment of contact in their minds’ eye. Germane to your close quarter combatives, these exercises will allow to visualise the fight before it happens.
Drill 1) Clearing the Mind
Find a quiet place with no distractions. It’s okay to sit or lie down, just get comfortable. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. An important point on breathing is on inhaling make sure your stomach expands and when exhaling your stomach contracts. The rhythm of your breathing should be a 4-count inhale, then hold your breath for 2-seconds; continue with a 4-count exhale, then hold your breath for 2-seconds. Focus your attention on your breathing pattern. When you become distracted, and you probably will, just note the source of the distraction and then return to just concentrating on your breathing. This process of noting thoughts and sensations, and then returning to the awareness of your breathing pattern is repeated throughout the drill. It sounds boring, but what is interesting is how this drill manifests into a moment-by-moment investigation of self-discovery. To be totally focused in the moment in the chaos of a fight –especially multiple attackers - you need to act with a clear mind. The big secret is being able to respond with confidence without consciously thinking.
Drill 2) Visualise the Confrontation/Fight
After a couple months of practicing Drill 1, start to visualise the actual confrontation. A good place to start is defining who your worst nightmare is. Everybody has at least one. This is usually "experienced based" from being intimidated by someone in the past to being assaulted in some way that has remained deep in the recesses of your memory. Once you establish who you are visualising, then start to imagine that you have been attacked and are defending yourself and/or your loved ones. Remember, there are 3-phases of the fight that you could visualise which pretty much would cover most scenarios that you would encounter. As you are visualising the scenario, make sure that you are winning. This is easy for some, yet difficult for others. If you find yourself losing, then stop the fight at that precise moment, clear your mind again and continue at the exact place where the fight left off. After awhile you begin to identify less with feelings of fear, pain and anger. The real thing happens so fast; the less conscious thinking and more visceral reaction to what’s going on within each precise moment is critical for survival.
Drill 3) Visualise the Technique/Tactic
Skill development and developing a seamless flow with all your tools and tactics are vital if you are to develop this “reaction without conscious thought” paradigm. Here you can visualise in your mind’s eye practicing the actual techniques and drills that you are currently learning in your class or private instruction. Many people would use this drill as a starting point, but you need to follow the order of Drills 1-3 as I have listed them. Here’s the second biggest secret gem: we start by clearing the mind for self-discovery; this is followed up by analysing the anatomy of the street fight; from there we use reverse engineering to work on and refine the tools, tactics and techniques. From there the cycle repeats itself.
Alright Globetrotters, this does it for this week’s instalment. Next week we’ll investigate Phil’s approach to teaching controlled aggression. Remember, these drills and concepts function as mental attributes and in no way replace actually getting in there and physically training with real people. They are all just part of a bigger puzzle.
Stay Safe
Hub
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