Group kata at Cape Cod Courtesy Kamila Z. Miller
You all know the story of the blind men and the elephant, right? It was originally published in a poem by John Godfrey Saxe that was about the silliness of humans disputing the nature of gods and religions.
The blind men, each very famous for wisdom and intelligence, walk up to an elephant, touch a piece, and begin to explain and describe the entire animal. The first touches the elephant’s side and declares that an elephant is just like a wall. The second, happening to grab hold of a tusk, knows that an elephant is just like a spear (okay, dull and curved and too thick but otherwise exactly like a spear…I don’t think this was the smartest of the blind men). From his short experience with the trunk, the third decides that an elephant is just like a snake
I don’t need to go on, do I?
Not to hit you over the head with the animal metaphors, but violence is a big animal and many people who have seen only a part of it are more than willing to sell you their expertise. Does someone who has been in a few bar brawls really know any more about violence than the guy who grabbed the elephant’s ear knows about elephants? Bar brawling experience is real and it is exactly what it is, but it won’t help you or even provide much insight into military operations or rape survival.
A truly devious mind that understands the principles can occasionally generalize from one type of conflict, say flying a combat mission, to very different types of conflict, such as crime prevention, debate or tactical assault. But that skill is both rare and limited. No matter how good you are at generalizing, there is a point where it doesn’t work and you descend into philosophy at the cost of survival.
Many martial arts, martial artists, and even people who fight for real on a regular basis have also only seen a very small part of this very big thing. Often, the best know one aspect very well, but that is only one aspect.
Some of the experts who are willing to sell you their insights have never seen a real elephant. Many people, almost all men in my experience, are willing to talk at length on the subjects of fighting and violence. They will lecture, expound, and debate.
Know this: Watching every martial arts movie ever filmed gives you as much understanding of fighting as a child watching Dumbo learned about elephants. Learning a martial art often teaches you as much as a taxidermist would know about elephants. Watching boxing or the UFC teaches as much as a trip to the zoo or the circus. Really, really studying the best research available gives you an incredible amount of knowledge about violence or about elephants, but there is always one detail missing.
When you are standing next to an elephant, it is huge. It could crush you at will or tear you in half, and there is nothing you could do. The advantage of being blind, of only knowing a part of this beast, is the comfortable illusion of safety.
section 1.1: the tactical matrix—an example
Violence isn’t just a big animal. It is complicated as hell. If you ever really wanted to get a handle on just one piece—interpersonal violence—you would need to understand physics, anatomy and physiology, athletics, criminal law, group dynamics, criminal dynamics, evolutionary psychology, biology and evolutionary biology, endocrinology, strategy, and even moral philosophy. In this great big complex mess, if you want to survive, you need a quick and simple answer. That’s hard.
A matrix is used to describe and analyze a multidimensional event in a multidimensional way. Ask a martial artist, “What’s your favorite attack?” or “What’s your favorite combination?” and they will have an answer. For a few years, mine was a backfist/sidekick combination. Remember that. It will come up in a few paragraphs.
There are many ways to break things up. Consider this as one example. There are four different ways that a fight can arise:
(1) You are completely surprised, hit before you are aware that a conflict has arisen.
(2) You felt something was going on but weren’t sure what.
(3) You knew it was coming and you were ready, a mutual combat.
(4) You ambushed the other guy, initiating action when he was completely surprised.
There are also three different levels of force that you can use. (A) You must not injure the other person, (e.g. getting the car keys from drunken Uncle Bob). (B) It’s okay to injure, but not to kill. (C) Killing is both legally justified and prudent.
This makes a simple 3x4 matrix of twelve options:
Figure 1.1: The Tactical Matrix
| SURPRISED | ALERTED | MUTUAL | ATTACKING | |
| NO INJURY | ||||
| INJURY | ||||
| LETHAL |
In only one of these twelve possible scenarios is the backfist/ sidekick a really good option. It is workable in perhaps two more, but for seventy-five percent of the options, my “favorite” technique is worthless.
You can plug almost any technique, tactic, or even system into the matrix and see where it applies. Karate’s core strategy is to “do damage”— close in and hit hard. Given that it is difficult (not impossible) to kill with a bare hand, where does Karate fit on the matrix? Where does boxing fit? Sword and shield? Where does a handgun fit? Can you use a handgun when you are completely surprised?
| SURPRISED | ALERTED | MUTUAL | ATTACKING | |
| NO INJURY | Inappropriate due to risk of injury/ requires time and distance | Inappropriate due to risk of injury | Inappropriate due to risk of injury | Inappropriate due to risk of injury |
| INJURY | Requires some time and distance. Won’t work | Possible, if attacker gives time | Good | Possible, but feint is inefficient if you have surprise |
| LETHAL | Insufficient force, time, and distance. Unworkable | Insufficient force | Insufficient force | Insufficient force |
Using a backfist/sidekick combination in an example of a simple tactical matrix.
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SURPRISED
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