Man Skills: More News From The Fighting Front

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Jimbo here from the FightFast headquarters bringing you more “bam-bam he’s out” kinda tips.

• Fine Motor Skills: Not so fine after all.
• Gross Motor Skills: Not so gross after all.
• MMA Fighting: This ain’t street fighting.
• More Fight Stuff: ‘Cause I couldn’t think of a clever name.

Fine Motor Skills:

Skills that fly out the window.

Ever see a real fight?

Ever see like a 10,000 of them?

I have. They’re usually sloppy and short. Nothing like Hollywood, (how boring is that?).

So the big question is why the coolest moves — the spinning roundhouse kicks… the perfectly timed back fists… the gorgeous flying karate kicks — and all the moves that look so awesome in a Steven Segal movie…

…are almost never seen in a real fight?

Well, it’s because those Steven Segal moves require “fine motor skills”.

You see, the problem with fine motor skills (you know, the stuff taught in most martial arts classes), is that they require a high degree of training to learn… and then require a high degree of training just to maintain.

Oh yeah… and then they rarely work in a real fight, (so there’s that).

It’s really just biology and how the sympathetic nervous system works.

You see, when the adrenaline dump hits, the heart rate automatically goes up… higher thinking processes begin to degrade… you start grunting like a Neanderthal…

…and your fine motor skills go bye-bye.

So in the heat of battle, all those complex skills you trained so hard will, (for the most part), fly away like a little birdie. There’s simply nothing you can do about it. (So sorry).

Doesn’t means cool moves are impossible. Just improbable.

It’s possibility vs probability.

Sure, it’s possible to make a reverse spinning high round-house kick work in a real street fight, (my brother-in-law still can’t remember the one “Little Joey” nailed him with, although it was a real thing of beauty).

But of the thousands of documented street fights captured by CCTV cameras (and on smartphones by giddy middle-school kids) — almost none of them show fancy Hollywood moves working with any degree of success.

I have seen a few work, but they are the rare exception.

Okay… it’s understandable why guys like us want to use fancy moves. It’s the same reason we want “all net” basketball shots from halfcourt – it looks damn cool.

But if you’re always taking half-court shots you won’t rack up points (plus you’ll be nicknamed “Hongo”).

Same with combat.

Guys who put “looking cool” over “winning” often lose a street fight, (and end up on YouTube looking very much NOT cool).

Gross Motor Skills:

Easy enough for a caveman.

Gross motor skills do not require a lot of complex biomechanical skills, (no, it’s more like “Mongo swing arm. Mongo smash face”).

Now don’t get me wrong – even the grossest of gross motor combat skills won’t come to you in your sleep. You’ll have to actually learn them.

But they don’t require a “high-level firing pattern” in the brain to work, so an adrenaline dump won’t knock them out of your head.

Nail down a few simple kicks… head-butts… elbows… knees… ground moves… and simple techniques based on natural movements that don’t require years to learn, and they’ll stick with you in a clutch.

In fact, most fights are won with these kinds of simple (but well-executed) skills – mainly because you’re tapping into your body’s own natural movement patterns instead of forcing some overly-complex process that will often fall apart in a real fight.

MMA Fighting:

Cage fighting ain’t street fighting.

Okay, this whole Fine Motor vs Gross Motor skills may seem to run counter to what you’ve seen in MMA “Sport Fighting”.

Because we’ve all seen some pretty nifty moves actually work in these “cage fights”. Well, there are four reasons for this:

1. Ring and Rules – The ring is an open area with plenty of fighting room and there are lots of regulations on hand to protect the fighters. This creates an environment far more suitable for fancy-dancy moves that work. (“Are you not entertained?”).

2. Training Time – Winning inside the ring requires a fighter to be well-trained and highly conditioned. MMA fighters are incredible athletes who train for 4 to 10 hours a day (about the same amount of time my brother-in-law spends at Home Buffet practicing his ice cream swirl), making them far more capable of pulling off complex moves.

But here’s the thing: Winning a street fight rarely depends on conditioning (as it only lasts 3-8 seconds), and is more about your ability to quickly and decisively use nasty dirty tricks to end the fight as quickly as possible. (So yeah, there’s still room to feel good about Home Buffet).

3. Risk vs. Reward: Scoring a beautiful move in the ring can make you a name in the MMA world. Guys around the globe will be watching that move over and over again for years and crying out your name in awe.

Point is, ring fighters are motivated to take chances that would be foolish in an actual life-and-death street brawl.

Because missing in the ring may give your opponent an advantage, or may even mean losing the fight, but ultimately the ref will step in if it gets too ugly.

Failure on the street is different.

The chances you take should never be about “looking good” because you can’t depend on mercy from your adversary… or good citizens stepping-in to break up the fight… or the cops showing up just in the nick of time.

Instead, you’ve got to stick with high-probability moves that won’t open you up to unacceptable risks.

4. Adrenal Stress Accommodation: This is probably the biggest reason why complex fine motor techniques can be successful in the ring.

Typically MMA fighters (or boxers) prepare themselves for days, weeks, and months before a fight.

And when the bell rings, many take the first minutes to settle-in and “acclimate” to the high-stress levels they’re experiencing. Keeps him out of “hypervigilance” (fancy word for “brain freeze”), and allows the fighter to retain much of his cortex’s higher thinking, (there’s a brother-in-law joke in there somewhere).

Of course, this is NOT how a street fight plays out.

Instead of months… you have mere seconds to prepare for a real fight. And there’s no “settling in” time. Ultimately there’s simply no time for fine motor skills. (Time to go-gross bro).

More Fight Tips.

Other stuff to consider.

Because I’m too lazy to come up with clever headers and segues for some more interesting “stuff” I’ve got, I’ll just start rambling and hope that you can sort it out.

Defeat is not a temporary set back.

And it’s NOT an option.

My own research shows this to be disturbingly common. Guys who just “surrender” to a beating with the hope that their adversary will show some mercy.

I mean, maybe it’s better to accept a good ass-kicking rather than make the bad man really angry by fighting back.

Get that kind of thinking out of your head, (okay?).

Because it means you’re comfortable with the possibility that you’ll suffer permanent injury or death (and I’m assuming you’re really not okay with that… right?… RIGHT?).

So never get comfy with the idea that it might be okay to absorb a couple blows in the interest of allowing him to let off some steam.

It’s not unusual for an unhinged opponent or multiple opponents to continue beating on a person who’s unconscious, (which makes the fight so one-sided too, don’t you think?).

Your adversary has NO rules.

A real fight means NO rules.

You cannot expect your adversary to show mercy or fight “honorably”.

It’s like the British and German pilots in WWI. Both sides used to use airplanes to spot enemy troop movements.

There was an unwritten code of honor where enemy pilots would salute one another as their aircraft passed.

Isn’t that nice?

I mean, here the pilots held critical information on how to slaughter thousands of the other guy’s troops, and yet there’s a friendly salute. So sweet.

One day the Germans thought, hmmm… maybe we should stop the British flyers from passing along this vital intel.

And so they did. A German pilot hung a brick from a rope and flew over the saluting British pilot as he passed, knocking out his wooden prop, (which was important for flight).

The British were appalled at such a cowardly and dishonorable act, (which is actually kind of hilarious).

Point is, never act the “gentleman”.

You MUST assume that your opponent has no rules and will do anything he can to hurt or kill you.

However… these principles aren’t designed to transform you into some heartless mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging jerk. (No. Leave that to my neighbor Ralph).

For you, this is about surviving and winning a fight — so you can go back home to your family safe and sound.

Another thought…

Always leave immediately. Don’t stand around “waiting to see what happens”… because winning the fight is as good as it gets. It’s all downhill from there.

Get you and your family the hell out.

Hanging around means there’s a good possibility you’ll be caught up in the next round of drama from his friends… or from citizens who might perceive you as the “bad guy”… or even from the police who may not understand what a sweet and caring man you really are.

That doesn’t mean you’re necessarily running from the law – it’s just that you want to talk to the cops on YOUR terms – without the extra drama and confusion.

You can call them later if you choose and explain that you left the scene for your own safety.

Bottom line – as Navy SEAL trainer Paul Vunak points out… “Get out while you can.”

Which is exactly what I’ll do now. Seeya.

More “Man-Skills” to come.

Stay Manly,
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Jimbo, Editor
Man Skills

P.S. One more thing. Noticed just before it became super uncool to hang out in crowds, there were a lot of “tomahawk-throwing” clubs opening up. (Really alcohol and throwing sharp stuff… what could wrong)?

If you want to try it out for yourself — without having to hang with a crowd of drunken dudes armed with deadly weapons, then check this out.

>> Learn To Throw A Tomahawk… HERE!<<