The combat scenario: how to control it

Master Kongling All, Fighting strategy, Self defense combat scenario 0

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What is a scenario?

We call “scenario”:

Any moment of our life (when we walk, eat, are surrounded by potential attackers, etc.)
The set of active and passive elements that surround us (including ourselves) and the interactions that occur between them

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

In order, a scenario can be:

A passive scenario – All those moments in which we are forcibly unable or partially unable to perceive (eg. when we sleep, when we are sick, when we are occupied by an very complex task, etc.)
A neutral scenario – Most of our time, when we are active but we do not detect any real threat (eg. when we work)
A self-defense scenario – It covers all those contexts where we are aware of potential or real danger but we are not already physically fighting (eg. a heated argument, a robbery, etc.)
A combat scenario – This is the actual moment when we fight against someone within a system of rules (rules dictated by physics, by the law, by a referee, etc.)

In these scenarios, our level of attention changes from 0 to 100%: let’s see how in detail.

How to control the various types of scenarios

A note by Master Kongling – Before continuing, it is fundamental to stress that when we say “control” we do not refer to the idea of having a sort of superhuman complete power over a scenario: we refer instead to the idea of committing ourselves to considering everything that may be relevant. Nothing that is outside our mind obeys our will, the only thing we can do is try to exploit the mechanics of what surrounds us to our advantage and more importantly to not be victims of them.

1. How to control a passive scenario

In a passive scenario, our level of reactivity goes (most of the time beyond our will) from 0 to 25%.

With such a forcibly low level of attention, in most cases, there is no way to correctly perceive the environment. No matter if we are highly trained spies, in these situations we are potentially at anyone’s mercy.

Without instant mental abilities at our disposal, the only weapon left at our disposal is the most effective: prevention.

We simply need to create conditions (proportional to the level of risk) that guarantee us: if not the total impossibility of a danger, at least a spatial / temporal obstacle enough complex to be overcome to give us the time to notice it and react accordingly (in other words to convert a passive scenario into a self-defense one).

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2. How to control a neutral scenario

In a neutral scenario, our level of reactivity should be around a minimum of 25% and a maximum of 50%.

A note by Master Kongling – We repeat it all the time but it is important, our S.A.F.E. method must not transform us into control freaks tied to states of paranoid anxiety (this would be really silly), it is simply about being relaxed but passively alert (like animals), nothing more, nothing less.

In these cases our attention must be fully relaxed but at the same time:

Broad – We have to cover a large distance, even up to 50m (depending naturally on where we are)
Cyclical – We must cyclically monitor 360° on the 3 axes, all the unobstructed directions around us
Layered – First we have to keep an eye on the circumference (sphere) occupied by what is closest to us and then gradually more quickly / superficially on the circumferences that are further away
Selective – It is not possible to keep an eye on every element and every interaction that it generates with what is around it, we must learn to pay a greater level of attention to the things that can most easily be a source of rational danger

In doing this we must not behave like prison guards on a turret, we just have to take a look around but in a methodical and curious way (without any rush or search for millimetric precision): our targets are the anomalies.

To deepen this topic read The overall view: see everything, do not look at anything.

3. How to control a self-defense scenario

In a self-defense scenario, our level of reactivity should be around a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 75%.

The way we should check what happens around us is very similar to the one of a neutral scenario but with a few fundamental differences:

The level of attention must be much higher and restricted to a smaller area (inferior to 15-25m, depending on the environment)
We do not have to search only for potential dangers (eg. slippery ground) but also for elements to exploit to our advantage (escape routes, improper weapons, etc.)
Already knowing what is our primary threat source we have to give much more importance to our declared potential aggressors; however, this should not make us forget the interactions between other elements (e.g. apparently neutral people approaching)
In particular, the type of interaction that must interest us most is what the hands are doing (where are, what they are doing, in what direction, etc.); everything can be dangerous (eg. a headbutt) but the reason we say this is that that body part is certainly the more versatile in combat terms (it can hit, capture, handle weapons, etc.) and also the most commonly used to start an aggression

A note by Master Kongling – The problem is that all of this is much more difficult to do due to things like fear, adrenaline and naturally the interaction with our aggressors. Without good mental preparation, most of the most common reactions are all bad (depending on the people: it may be a sort of paralysis, an unproportioned violent reaction, refusal, mental confusion (etc., read Why and when self-defense does not work).

To deepen the method of analysis of a self-defense scenario read Self-defense: how to evaluate the scenario.

4. How to control a combat scenario

In a combat scenario, our level of reactivity should be around a minimum of 75% and a maximum of 100%.

Even in this case, the method remains the same but with faster times and smaller spaces:

The level of attention must be at 100% and restricted to an even smaller area (inferior to 5-10m, depending on the environment)
We cannot scan too frequently the surroundings because our core problem is our aggressors; we can continue our search for occasions to exploit but only passively, in an instinctive way (in such a dynamic context we cannot make in fact complex reasoning as for a static self-defense scenario)
If we are very prepared, what we can try to do is to study our opponents (read How to study an opponent) in real time but even for an intermediate-level practitioner this is almost impossible
Our first goal must simply be to try to read the adversaries’ body elements position to understand what they / we can physically do and what they / we certainly not
Our second goal (as 6 Dragons Kung Fu practitioners) is to create with our spatial memory a 360° evolving mental map of the scenario’s interactions to predict trajectories, remember obstacles, etc. without counting only on our field of vision

A note by Master Kongling – During a real fight, our central focus is almost no more the entire environment but the body structure of the opponents (read also Study an opponent to use his errors): at a high level, crossing that data we could reach a sort of precision that may appear as “precognition” (the ancient ninja played a lot on these factors, to fuel the fallacious idea that their abilities were supernatural, read Ninja (shinobi): who they were and how they acted).

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts:

Mentally, the best way of looking at any type of the mentioned scenarios is the one of the external observer (a sort of coach), detached relaxed and with a good point of view, almost as if we were seeing everything from above
The best way to train to manage a scenario is to create realistic and not collaborative simulations (read How to simulate realistic self-defense scenarios), this is the only way to develop real adaptability (read Adaptability: a key to prevail in any self-defense scenario)
Is all of this enough to avoid / predict / spot any type of danger? Absolutely not, there are things that occur beyond our human ability to monitor, we simply have to accept it as part of the game of life; the certain thing is that a (good) self-defense preparation drastically increases our level of security
…

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – The right practices to build real martial skills
Mind self-control hacks – How to dominate our mind and focus it on our specific goals
Basic stealth techniques – A video course about the fundamentals of invisibility in our school
Self-defense: not violent self-preservation – Everything we can (should) do before fighting
Self-defense basics: how to – The full path to self-defense of our school
Advanced combat tactics – How to build good quality strategies made of interchangeable tactics
Combat mobility: how to – Effectively manage footwork and combat space

In-depth articles

Self-defense: prevent an ambush in an enclosed space – Practical advice about how to avoid aggressions inside a building
Self-defense: how to avoid street robbery – An application sample of our S.A.F.E. method with a robbery

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

How do you manage the happenings of dangerous a scenario?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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