Method of Madness - Self Defense
So what is it that separates Dennis Martin and John Brawn from the pack? As Dennis said himself, there are only so many ways to teach and axe hand or tiger strike, it's easy to learn and easy to teach. What separates Dennis and John from the pack is the same thing that separates Traditional and Modern Martial Arts from Self Defense - the teaching methods. Rather than practicing on thin air, a compliant opponent, or someone trained to fight in an anticipated manner, Combative's place's you in unfamiliar situations against unfamiliar opponents. You're continually off balance, constantly assessing and reassessing the situation, and, as a result, constantly learning. The training simulates the reality, you wear the same clothes you normally would, you fight in a similar environment and you train with a similar aggression.
This was highlighted mostly on the 2nd day where Dennis brought us through his accelerated Neural Based Training. This is where I became really impressed. The day opened with John giving us a run down of the fitness concepts, books and DV's he recommends. Names I'd be very familiar as being on the cutting edge of the fitness industry such as Charles Poliquin, Alwyn Cosgrove and Christian Thibaudeau (who recently featured me in an article on abdominal training) were all top of the list. These guys are among the finest experts in terms of strength and conditioning and they aren't many martial artists utilizing the same principals these men advocate to build incredible athletes. Perhaps this explains John's superb conditioning?
Taking these principals John integrated them into an advanced Tabatha style routine designed to heighten our reaction times, speed and co-ordination. All with astonishing effect. Dennis then took over and brought us through a systematic progression of Accelerated Combative's. First introduced to the principals of Neural Based Training by Marcus Wynne of the US Air Marshals, having seen the radical improvement in retention and effective implementation of technique and combat principals Dennis adapted the cutting edge techniques of the NLP and the JEDI Program. Utilizing these teaching methods Dennis is able to teach the key attitude and mindset necessary to implement the level of aggression that makes effective self defense.
Intent to Implement
A fundamental fact of self defense is that in order for the techniques taught to be effective, one must be willing to implement them. Often the fight for survival comes down to who is willing to what the other won't first. That willingness is powered by controlled aggression. This attitude and mindset is the true heart of Combative's and I've seen it taught by the very best of instructors, from Dennis Martin to Lee Morisson.
The training is intense but remarkably efficient at levering aggression levels in response to perceived threat. Combining State Management and Anchoring techniques each of the participants learnt to draw on terrific levels of strength and resolve by mastering aggression. Beyond fatigue, beyond pain, beyond numbers each one of the participants including a female participant, the celebrated Catherine "KO" Costigan, was able to fight on.
I've trained in many systems of combat, and am myself a Level 2 Reality Based Combat Instructor…yet I still left with a new array of skills, techniques and a refined attitude. When I walked away from the 2 Day Dennis Martin Seminar, I left sore from a devastating workouts that challenged me in ways I'd never considered before. I left educated in what I need to learn and improve on to be a more complete fighter, and most importantly I refined that attitude, so crucially important in Realistic Combat Training. I left knowing that which Dennis continually reinforced through the Neural Based Training. I left knowing that I will do whatever it takes to win the fight.
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