This is the third in a multi-article series on Components of Personal Defense.  In this article I will start to touch on components of the fight.  We will explore these components in more detail in later articles.

When we look at the fight and what happens in the fight, from the perspective of the law-abiding citizen, there are four (4) major components we need to be aware of.  They are Mindset, Knowledge, Skills, and Capability.

Mindset is the mental preparation necessary to execute the fight.  Remember, fights can be at any level of violence from verbal all the way up to lethal threat.  Mindset is the mental preparation or rehearsal required to perform in any violent altercation.  A couple of major components of Mindset relating to the fight are the ability to stay calm, the ability to focus on the task at hand, the ability to think clearly and make good decisions, the ability to manage physical reactions to stress, and the dedication and determination to do what is necessary to end the threat.  Mindset is by far the most important aspect of execution in a fight.  It is also the hardest to develop.  Remember, the fight doesn’t necessarily have to be physical and it may not be short in nature.  The fight may be protracted and of low physical intensity.  An example of this may be workplace harassment or domestic bullying.  On the other end of the spectrum, the fight may be relatively short and very violent as in the case of a road rage attack.  Regardless, mindset is the foundation of performance.  As I say in all my Defensive classes, I can quickly teach you how to shoot a pistol but I can’t teach you the willingness to harm another human in defense of self and others.  How to develop Mindset is a topic for a future article.

Knowledge is the “book learning” needed to frame our actions.  Knowledge regarding the fight pertains to how people think and act.  Understanding the likely progression of an attack gives you the ability to anticipate your adversary’s actions.  For example, understanding that bullies typically are looking to dominate provides you with the knowledge necessary to develop a response strategy.  Furthermore, as a citizen, we are required to operate within the law.  Thus, our actions must be framed with the understanding of legal statute and precedence.  The more we understand how law enforcement and the court system works, the more information we have to develop our defensive strategy.

Skills are the actions acquired and developed through training that are directly applicable to the fight situation.  Many of us spend hours on end at the range honing our shooting skills but the probability of us ever having to use those skills is very low.  On the other hand, how much time do we spend practicing argument defusing techniques or empty hand tactics?  We are far more likely to be in a non-lethal threat fight than we are to be in a lethal force engagement.  Make sure you are developing a full set of skills useful in many situations, not just the ones you enjoy practicing.

Capability is your ability to execute in a fight.  Capability encompasses Mindset, Knowledge, and Skills and is the test to determine proficiency.  We must prove that we have learned and mastered the ability to fight by fighting.  There is no other way!  We must test ourselves to find our weaknesses to know what to focus our training on.  Look for the holes in your capability and work to enhance your weaknesses.  As a 65-year-old broken down old granddad, I know I am not as physically capable as I was when I was 30 and so does my adversary.  Consequently, I need to test myself against younger opponents to figure out how to compensate for my deficiencies.  As we old guys often say, “old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance”.

I hope this has given you some things to think about.  As mentioned above, we will delve deeper into these topics in future articles.  If you have friends or know of someone that would benefit from these articles, feel free to pass them along.  As always, if you have questions or comments please reach out to me at wakefirearmstraining@mindspring.com.

Train Hard!  Stay Frosty!  Never Give Up!

John