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Introduction

This book is about winning fights. It presents a simple, easy-to-learn body of technique along with the psychological, tactical, and technical factors needed to make it work. The techniques presented here are equally applicable to self-defense and sporting applications, though not all of them are legal in every type of competition.

The techniques in this book are found, in some shape or form, in most martial arts and at least some are likely to be familiar to any given martial artist. This does not mean that the techniques in this book are the best possible versions of the most effective techniques for any given situation. Instead, they were chosen for their ease of use and flexibility. They will get the job done under almost any circumstances, without needing a lengthy period of training to achieve effectiveness.

The system presented here is—as the title of the book suggests—a shortcut to combat effectiveness. If you can do everything presented here, do it well and do it at the right time, then you will be an extremely effective fighter. Reaching that level of skill and ability will not take very long, because the techniques are simple and there is a fairly small number of them. The intent is to reach a solid level of all-round capability as quickly as possible. From this base, it is possible to progress in several directions, but as a general rule it is better to become very skilled with a small number of techniques than to collect dozens of variations.

While this book does allow a fighter to take a shortcut through the maze of available techniques, there is still no substitute for hard training—ideally with a good instructor or at least a competent partner. The shortcut is in terms of content, that is, not having to waste time learning a vast body of graded technique before getting to what you need, or going down blind alleys while experimenting with techniques. It is still necessary to put in the time to become skilled at these techniques and the system that binds them together. However, the time required to become highly skilled with twenty techniques is obviously going to be less than that required for several dozen.

Whether competition or “street,” a fight is an unpleasant environment to be in, where nothing ever goes according to plan. Simple techniques done well are a better option than flashy or overcomplex moves, despite how good they look in training.

With an attack coming in, it is necessary to do something about it right now, rather than the perfect thing a second too late. If what you do works well enough to keep you in the fight, then that’s good enough.

There is no intent here to insult any martial art, nor to suggest that much of a given system is useless. The body of technique in any martial art exists for a reason, and there is much to learn from a full and formal art. However, the purpose of most martial arts classes is not to produce an effective all-round fighter in the shortest possible time. This book is aimed at those whose goal is to become such a fighter, whether or not they also train in a formal martial art.

Most of the techniques in this book are equally applicable to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and self-defense. Some are more appropriate in a sporting context; some are illegal in most forms of competition. Applications are discussed when each technique is presented. All the techniques are found in mainstream martial arts, though not all of them will be contained within any given art. Thus, a judo player will be familiar with the takedowns and chokes, though he may give them different names, and a kickboxer will find that most of the strikes are contained in his art. These techniques are found at the core of fighting systems that have been in use for centuries, for the very good reason that they work.

There are various names for the techniques covered here. We will use generic titles for simplicity, highlighting similar techniques in common martial arts. As a rule, a technique that does the same job in roughly the same way can be considered to be equivalent. If your “home” art has a workable technique that fills the same niche as one presented here,”then you would be well advised to use the one you already know rather than trying to learn another way to get the same job done. After all, if you already have a chrome spanner, why go out and buy one that’s been painted yellow? It’s the same tool and it does the same job.

Often there are underlying principles that make techniques work. The concept of “broken balance” is vital to many restraints, standing submissions, and takedowns. On the right, balance is broken by bending him backwards, making it very difficult to resist or counter the hold.

Remember, our aim here is to develop combat effectiveness, not to learn a specific group of techniques and impress a panel of grading judges with them. That is the underlying theme throughout the book—no matter how scrappy or messy a technique looks, if it works then it’s a good one. Techniques are tools for winning fights. They need to be performed well to get good results, but it is the result that matters. Sloppy technique can be fixed later; a lost fight will stay lost.

Your “combat toolkit” must be flexible enough to be applied in many different situations. In most cases there’s no rocket science involved — a punch is pretty much a punch whether it’s delivered standing up or in ground-and-pound. The hard part is putting yourself where that punch can be most effectively delivered.