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• All furniture should be probed, recent repairs• Ceiling panels removed
• Walls checked for recent repairs, wallpaper, plaster
• Windows, frames, balconies
• All lifts and service areas
• Utilize electronic as well as a physical search
UNARMED Combat
Hand-to-hand combat is an engagement between two or more persons in an empty-handed struggle or with handheld weapons such as knives, sticks, and rifles with bayonets. These fighting arts are essential military skills. Projectile weapons may be lost or broken, or they may fail to fire. When friendly and enemy forces become so intermingled that firearms and grenades are not practical, hand-to-hand combat skills become vital assets.
PURPOSE OF UNARMED COMBAT TRAINING
Today's battlefield scenarios may require silent elimination of the enemy. Unarmed combat and expedient-weapons training should not be limited to forward units. With rapid mechanized/motorized, airborne, and air assault abilities, units throughout the battle area could be faced with close-quarter or unarmed fighting situations. With low-intensity conflict scenarios and guerrilla warfare conditions, any soldier is apt to face an unarmed confrontation with the enemy, and hand-to-hand combative training can save lives. The many practical battlefield benefits of unarmed combat training are not its only advantage.
1. Contribute to individual and unit strength, flexibility, balance, and cardio respiratory fitness.
2. Build courage, confidence, self-discipline, and esprit de corps.
We are always surprised by the amount of people who turn up for CP training who have no martial skills whatsoever. When it comes to the bottom line, you have to be able to fight and remember, you’re seldom, if ever, going to be armed, due to the legislation of certain countries. Close protection is all about avoiding the threat. But, as always there will be a time when you will have to fight for your life and that of your honor. But to balance those comments I am equally surprised by the martial artist that believe that because he or she is a Black Belt they will make an excellent BG.
You will, in every circumstance have to engage the following:
-• POWER
• SPEED
• BODY WEIGHT
• AGGRESSION
Aggression is always the primary glue that holds the rest together.
You may take any one part away from the list and you can still win, but aggression must always stay.
I have read too many manuals about how to stop an attacker rushing towards you with a couple of blows to vital organs. This is total rubbish; a person who is high on adrenalin and fear with one goal of hurting you or your VIP cannot be stopped in this way. The only way he can be stopped is to deflect the charge and or bring him down. This will never happen cleanly and it will turn into a grappling match. At this point the rest of your team is hopefully doing what they should be and removing the VIP from danger. Once on the floor you must
aim for the most venerable part of the body, eyes, ears, throat and testicles to name a few. If however you take the assailant down and manage to stay upright, then in a brief few seconds, you must make the decision as to whether to finish off the threat or re-group to your team.
You must always train to achieve as realistic an effect as possible.
Skilled opponents know that you can never go far wrong if you engage your opponent aggressively. Backing off from an attack, puts you on the back foot mentally as well as physically. You must close with an attacker; forget the aim of blocking blows.
CLOSE AND HIT.
You must remember that pain alone will not stop an attacker. This person, possibly being assisted by drugs, will seldom be stopped by Magnum rounds. One way to give him the good news is to gain a response from the Central Nervous System to disable him. The eyes throat and ears are good targets, but when it all goes to pot the stationary targets you practiced on are now bobbing and weaving all over the place.
Attack may be broadly the following or a combination of a number:
-• VERBAL
• RUSHING
• GRABBING
• STRIKING
• BLUNT INSTRUMENT
• BLADED ARTICLE
Striking attacks are the easiest to deal with. You do not have to think is my attacker skilled or un-skilled as in the fractions of seconds you have to deal with a situation it would do you little or no good at all.
You must make an Instant Response Action to the threat (IRA) In Battle, CHOICE AND DECISION-MAKING, IS DEATH AND INJURY PRODUCING To defeat a skilled kicker you must –
• Cover up
• Close up
• Sweep or grapple to the ground
At all costs any type of physical engagement should be avoided, a good BG will pre-empt the engagement by being aware of the situation around him or her. You must act fast to take your attacker out of the equation, you do not want a prolonged confrontation.
Chokes, grabs, traps, wrist and arm locks
First and most important principal you should be the giver rather than the receiver. Chokes and strangles when applied properly will work within seconds, all this rubbish about kicking or head butting backwards is crap, a good attacker will limit all these area’s from your reach.
The whole idea is speed aggression and simplicity in dealing with the attacker.
Knife Attacks
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On confronting a person who is holding a knife, my advice is to give them what they want (within reason) or just run away. But we are involved in the field of Close Protection, where free choice often doesn’t enter in to it.
If you are armed shoot them!
Use any weapons you can get your hands on sticks, chairs, dustbin lids, etc.
You are going to have to move in close, it is all a question of Distance / Reaction. You will for sure receive some damage but if you use your forearms no major arteries will be cut.
Although the Legislation in a country allows it or not I always carry an ASP telescopic baton to give the offender the good news with.
Defense against Hand Gun attacks
Unfortunately it has become so easy to obtain firearms on the black market, that the weapon of choice nowadays is a firearm.
A person will have 2 main objectives if he attacks with a gun: - 1. To Kill
2. To Kidnap
Under stressful conditions with people around them, the chances of an assassin hitting a target at anything over 15 feet is unlikely. If you research most attempted assassinations the assassin is usually very close.
What do you look for in a person who would attempt such a task.
Stress, Tension, Nervousness, over-concentration and Fear.
If you can spot this and move towards the offender, you are cutting these persons options down and giving them less time to react.
So, you’ve had a handgun pulled on you and you are unarmed, this is not one of those times you close up and rush the target.
Proximity
Bring him in! – If he is not within reach, he must be induced to come closer to you or for you to move closer to him.
An expert assailant will know that a short - barreled weapon held tight against the body is extremely hard to take away from someone.
Despite fear and stress, you have to be calm enough to assimilate as much information as pertinent to your safety and survival.
Before we start with this we need to first look at what type of firearm is being used, a revolver – either single or double action or a high spec automatic.
My preference to be faced with is a revolver, which would require a full pull through to action it in double action mode and similar with a pistol.
(No knee jerk reaction with a revolver)
With an automatic I have heard of stories about training to push back the slide to stop it firing. To do this you have to be extremely skilled and prepared to take a risk.
Not for me!
We now have the assailant in close pointing a handgun at you. Firstly you probably have about ⅔ of a second to move out of the line of fire.
9 times out of 10 the weapon will be pointed at your head, this actually makes life easier as all you have to move is your head.
Note: - To hit a weapon hand when the weapon is pointing in your face means that movement of your arms happens below his line of site, sheltered by his own arm.
A split second before you strike, look away. You won’t lose your point of contact and he will feel that he is in control of the situation.
You need to strike the weapon hand away from you, but keeping control of the hand so it doesn’t come back on you.
You must now finish him off, if both hands are tied up, use your head or knee’s.
Dos and Don’ts
• If you are ordered to put your hands up never raise them above head height.
• Do not show any prior movement towards the weapon, don’t stare; the eyes give the game away.
• Always keep the weapon in your peripheral vision
• Try to act natural – Frightened.
BASIC PRINCIPLES
There are basic principles that the hand-to-hand fighter must know and apply to successfully defeat an opponent. The principles mentioned are only a few of the basic guidelines that are essential knowledge for hand-to-hand combat. There are many others, which through years of study become intuitive to a highly skilled fighter.
Physical Balance. Balance refers to the ability to maintain equilibrium and to remain in a stable, upright position. A hand-to-hand fighter must maintain his balance both to defend himself and to launch an effective attack. Without balance, the fighter has no stability with which to defend himself, nor does he have a base of power for an attack. The fighter must understand two aspects of balance in a struggle:
• How to move his body to keep or regain his own balance. A fighter develops balance through experience, but usually he keeps his feet about shoulder-width apart and his knees flexed. He lowers his center of gravity to increase stability.
• How to exploit weaknesses in his opponent's balance. Experience also gives the hand-to-hand fighter a sense of how to move his body in a fight to maintain his balance while exposing the enemy's weak points.
Mental Balance. The successful fighter must also maintain a mental balance. He must not allow fear or anger to overcome his ability to concentrate or to react instinctively in hand-to-hand combat.
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Position. Position refers to the location of the fighter (defender) in relation to his opponent.
A vital principle when being attacked is for the defender to move his body to a safe position--that is, where the attack cannot continue unless the enemy moves his whole body. To position for a counterattack, a fighter should move his whole body off the opponent's line of attack. Then, the opponent has to change his position to continue the attack. It is usually safe to move off the line of attack at a 45-degree angle, either toward the opponent or away from him, whichever is appropriate. This position affords the fighter safety and allows him to exploit weaknesses in the enemy's counterattack position. Movement to an advantageous position requires accurate timing and distance perception.
Timing. A fighter must be able to perceive the best time to move to an advantageous position in an attack. If he moves too soon, the enemy will anticipate his movement and adjust the attack. If the fighter moves too late, the enemy will strike him. Similarly, the fighter must launch his attack or counterattack at the critical instant when the opponent is the most vulnerable.
Distance. Distance is the relative distance between the positions of opponents. A fighter positions himself where distance is to his advantage. The hand-to-hand fighter must adjust his distance by changing position and developing attacks or counterattacks. He does this according to the range at which he and his opponent are engaged
Momentum. Momentum is the tendency of a body in motion to continue in the direction of motion unless acted on by another force. Body mass in motion develops momentum. The greater the body mass or speed of movement, the greater the momentum. Therefore, a fighter must understand the effects of this principle and apply it to his advantage.
The fighter can use his opponent's momentum to his advantage--that is, he can place the opponent in a vulnerable position by using his momentum against him.
• The opponent's balance can be taken away by using his own momentum.
• The opponent can be forced to extend farther than he expected, causing him to stop and change his direction of motion to continue his attack.
• An opponent's momentum can be used to add power to a fighter's own attack or counterattack by combining body masses in motion.
The fighter must be aware that the enemy can also take advantage of the principle of momentum. Therefore, the fighter must avoid placing himself in an awkward or vulnerable position, and he must not allow himself to extend too far.
Learn how to break your fall
If your intention is to run your opponent backwards at 100mph into any object, particularly the floor, self-preservation in your opponent will cause him to release his grip on you.
You must train to develop an instinctive reaction to dropping and twisting body weight to break free of bear hugs and hit the ground running.
Elbows – Used properly, they are one of the best close quarter weapons available.
They are extremely hard to block and are like having a heavy hammer in your personal arsenal.
Fists – Give you the range to your target, however some people just cannot punch and usually do more damage to themselves rather than the opponent.
Kicks – These are extremely difficult to use effectively in a street fight.
The main target areas that you should aim for if you have to kick are, the stomach, and anything below the waist knees’ Groin etc.
Grappling – learn how! Some 90% of street battles will end up with two people wrestling each other to the ground. Remember what you have been taught so far use everything at your disposal, head butt, bite and elbow.
Blunt Instruments – These are like the TKD kickers, give them distance and they will beat you to death. As before you will have to COVER UP AND RUSH IN.
Leverage. A fighter uses leverage in hand-to-hand combat by using the natural movement of his body to place his opponent in a position of unnatural movement. The fighter uses his body or parts of his body to create a natural mechanical advantage over parts of the enemy's body. He should never oppose the enemy in a direct test of strength; however, by using leverage, he can defeat a larger or stronger opponent.
Close Range Unarmed Combat.
In close-range combative, two opponents have closed the gap between them so they can grab one another in hand-to-hand combat. The principles of balance, leverage, timing, and body positioning are applied. Throws and takedown techniques are used to upset the opponent's balance and to gain control of the fight by forcing him to the ground. Chokes can be applied to quickly render an opponent unconscious. The soldier should also know counters to choking techniques to protect himself. Grappling involves skilful fighting against an opponent in close-range combat so that a soldier can win through superior body movement or grappling skills. Pain can be used to disable an opponent. A soldier can use painful eye gouges and strikes to soft, vital areas to gain an advantage over his opponent Mid Range Unarmed Combat
In medium-range combative, two opponents are already within touching distance. The arsenal of possible body weapons includes short punches and strikes with elbows, knees, and hands. Head butts are also effective; do not forget them during medium-range combat.
A soldier uses his peripheral vision to evaluate the targets presented by the opponent and choose his target. He should be aggressive and concentrate his attack on the opponent's vital points to end the fight as soon as possible.
Long Range Unarmed Combat
In long-range combative, the distance between opponents is such that the combatants can engage one another with fully extended punches and kicks or with handheld weapons, such as rifles with fixed bayonets and clubs. As in medium-range combative, a fighter must continuously monitor his available body weapons and opportunities for attack, as well as possible defence measures. He must know when to increase the distance from an opponent and when to close the gap. The spheres of influence that surround each fighter come into contact in long-range combative.