Fusion Mixed Martial Arts

Myth 8: You can't prepare for the eventualities on the street because, and you said it yourself, combat is fluid.

Truth: Even water has properties that must conform to certain laws. Knowing that combat is fluid makes you that much more prepared for the fight. Fighters will do predictable things (that’s why I wrote this book!)

Reality 1: Fights are largely based on gross motor skills, not fine motor skills.

The moment those knuckles impact your face, unless you are a super-trained combat soldier or fighter (I mean it, not just a MA practitioner with a black belt!) you won’t be able to use ‘fancy moves’ in a real fight. Your conditioned pain responses kick in and they’ve have been hard-wired into us for a hundred thousand years.Think about it for a second; human nature, fight or flight, versus ten years of martial arts training. Which do you think your brain is going to pick first? The street fighter understands this (consciously or not) and lets hell fly when the fight begins.

Reality 2: The fluid nature of combat makes specific patterns of martial arts unusable, at least in the beginning.

Since fighting and combat are fluid (ever changing and flexible), attack A and counter B seldom works as it does in the dojo. The formula usually looks like this:

Attack A [street fighter] (with B, C, and D variables thrown in) + Counter from B [martial fighter] (who didn’t expect any variables) = Attack A succeeding with overwhelming success!

If specific moves are going to be used by trained fighters, you have to wait for the right opening. These ‘windows’ are VERY seldom there from the get-go. By using the fluid nature of combat plus fatigue to your advantage, you may be able to pull off one of those
moves. But don’t expect a nice hip throw right off the bat without a punch to the head or kick to the midsection.

Reality 3: You must physically train yourself to prepare for battle.

You must take the time to apply them. Find a buddy and practice. And practice some more. Repetition builds speed and muscle memory. Even if you drill only three moves, make them the best, most bullet proof you can. The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in combat. Nothing replaces hard work and the application of knowledge!

Reality 4: Street fighters, whilst unpredictable, do have patterns that you can exploit.

Typically, there is the stand off, a jab, a haymaker, a stumble, a mount, a ground and pound, or kick them while you’re down. Most street fighters are also headhunters, meaning they are trying to knock out your computer (brain) with one large hit (slow but strong) or many softer hits (fast but weaker).