Sometimes our impression of a particular martial art can be skewed, particularly when we are unfamiliar with it. When I first saw Brazilian Jiu Jitsu it reminded me of a boa constrictor going to work. Now that I think back to it, the Gracie in question knew that he owned his opponents once he got them to the ground and he had no time limits that he had to worry about. This meant he could take his time and not take too many risks.
Yet when I see practitioners of BJJ who have an aggressive approach, I'm amazed at how fast they transition. I realised my earlier impressions were quite limited in scope and I also wondered if the same applied to some of the commentators on self defence.
It all comes back to time. Some of the TMA exponents believe that they are going to pull off elimination moves like eye gouges, strikes to the throat, neck, etc. before they get wrapped up and choked unconscious or get a limb extended in a direction it is not meant to go. I remember going through a brief phase of considering elimination techniques before I finally grasped the issue of limited time. In battle you never have the time you imagined you would, especially when you have to defend against multiple opponents.
I wonder how many other students of the arts have the same misconception in regards to the time available to you, as it has a big impact on your ideas. Training is usually done at a speed where the exercise works, that is, at a pace where it doesn't break down. Demonstrations of techniques are usually static, so even if the handwork is fast, the overall motion of the system is slow.
We create solutions for battle in an environment where everything is slowed down for everyone to see what is happening. When you add a lack of resistance into the equation then you get a recipe for creating delusional garbage. It doesn't help the process that people love the movements and shapes of their martial art as much as anything else it has to offer.
It also explains why a lot of technical solutions start to fail when they meet the pressure and resistance of battle. They weren't really designed for it in the first place. Strategies have to be pressure tested to ensure they will hold up. You have to go beyond sparring and drills to achieve this. A lot of TMA exponents unfortunately get suckered into the belief that 'it will be alright on the night'. Like being fascinated by the movements in the arts, people also like to think they are a little bit dangerous and they don't want reality interfering with that vision.
Battle always looks scrappy because of that pesky resistance from your opponent interfering with your plans and movements, sometimes to the point where any particular martial art is hard to recognise. It's not a coincidence that simpler solutions are more likely to work - it's all you usually have time for. So forget about the illusions of elimination concepts as they are a trap; pressure will likely deny you time and opportunity, especially for multiple attackers. Self defence is sometimes hijacked in the arts by the practitioners pushing the idea of being deadly. The more you think in battle, the more you are wasting time, and aggressive opponents will make you pay for those types of lapses.
Time and pressure are key elements in battle and against multiple attackers they are vital. The time is not available for using the opponent as a shield or lining attackers up. Time and pressure are generally your enemy if you are static. The more accelerated the movement of your whole system, the more time and pressure work in your favour to dismantle the group.
As always with group work, train safely and under the supervision of a qualified instructor
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