arm locks dont work, and other fight stories from the door

The “Control and Restraint” DVD Tutorial

Why would I find this course useful to my street fight training?

1. There are times where you will simply do not need to “go nuclear” on people as anyone with any common sense can easily imagine. But if it came right down to it, and you had to “grip” someone without “tenderising” them first, would you know what to do?

2. You having the capacity to Control and Restrain (not just bash to bits), puts you in a stronger position both psychologically and legally.


3. All martial artists secretly just want to learn cool moves that allow them to control someone attacking them, doing a simple takedown, arm manipulation or a “projection” (throwing someone, but not necessarily down) is something I think we all get into martial arts wanting to be able to do – not just for the ego buzz (lets not kid ourselves if you’ve ever taken someone to the floor with a wrist and shoulder manipulation or had the experience of literally “chucking” someone bigger than you out of the door of a pub, you know what I’m talking about) it’s also better on cctv and witnesses.

They can’t really see and won’t really remember what you have done using these techniques but the most important thing is that they DID NOT see you headbutt, punch or stomp the guy (classic archetypal “violent moves” that even the uninitiated can easily identify as being aggressive and “thug like”. It matters in police reports, trust me.)

4. We all have to develop the ability to deliver with a “sliding scale” of force, only having one way to respond to violence is not CHOICE, it’s not intelligence and if you think about it compromises both your personal safety and the people you are with. (We all imagine “street fights” as a solo experience but they usually happen as a group activity- which is really great because then you have to concern yourself with the safety of other people in your group too.)

5. If you are working as a doorman or policeman or thinking of that type of work you NEED these tactics, techniques and drills.

And as far as I know you won’t find them all IN ONE PLACE, where you need them. Make no mistake all these techniques are “out there” being taught openly, but as far as I am aware to date, no one has put them together like this. And whilst the techniques are out there, the drills are not.

Remember this is a tailor made course made by a doorman with doormen in mind.

Why is that good for YOU even if you’re NOT a doorman or a policeman?

Well:

I’ve skimmed from countless martial arts styles and sources and have developed my own training drills for teaching doormen only the most visceral, ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY skill sets for CONTROLLING and RESTRAINING someone who is:

a. Weaker than you but trying to fight you (this could be just as applicable for civilians if a family member or friend gets drunk and starts getting out of hand)

b. Actively Resisting you when you are attempting to move them but NOT fighting you (just as applicable for non professionals if you are in a verbal confrontation and need to get physical, but not TOO physical with someone. It’s a hell of an “argument stopper” if you just throw the person out of the room/ building and slam the door. Without giving them any visible injuries they can take to the police and whinge about.)


c. Those people who are Using a really annoying “passive/aggressive” psychological intimidation strategy on you, whereby they seek to belittle, humiliate or harass you without “crossing the line” ...justifying you smashing them in the jaw with a right cross.
This is a VERY common strategy. Including standing too close, barking at you, walking into you, touching you, “pretend friendly” grabbing you etc
Sometimes it’s NOT appropriate to just knock them out, it could escalate a situation and/or land you in jail. But grip them and give them a bit of shake (one of my mates calls it “scruffing”) and you might shake some sense into them.
If not? Well you already have your “Core Game Plan” ready and waiting to go at a much higher level of force that they will enjoy a lot less.

But at least you have tried.

At least you HAVE THE CHOICE TO TRY.

Not every situation is as cut and dry as a guy breaking into your home at 4 in the morning. Or a car jacking. Or a mugging. Or a group trying to “pack stomp” you in a club. My experience is limited to verbal conflict, control and restraint and to be honest what are best described as bar room brawls.

I got mugged once, they maced me whilst I sat strapped into my mates dads “mini moke” (sort of a little jeep), my cunning defence was to rub the mace into my eyes and start hyperventilating, sucking it down deeper. There were some off duty nurses near the scene at the time, they were drunk and inexperienced with mace. Thhey got me and my mates to try washing it out with water. Well you know how that goes. I was 13.

THE POINT IS: Not every situation is best resolved with extreme levels of violence.

To ignore the “Control and Restraint” Elements of Training is to leave a big gaping hole in your Self Protection Strategy.

Anyway, I’ll sign off with a few stories to illustrate my point:

I got my mate who is a former RAF regiment, bodybuilding, thai boxing grock a job on my door, about 6 years ago. Big lad, shaved head, tattoos, really looks the part. The first time I asked him to help me take two lads out of a fire exit was like watching a scene from a bad comedy.
I’ve sparred with this guy, he is not just big he is fit and fast (so much for the bodybuilders are all slow theory!) and he can lift the big numbers BUT he could NOT get his head around simply getting hold of someone and physically moving them out of the club.
It was like he just didn’t have the mental software for it.
When I asked him to grip this lad (not a big fellow) my mate went into a bit of a shutdown, eyes wide, jaw slack and his hands moving over all the guy a bit like he was patting him down for a weapons check, but really, really fast and light... poking at him but not GRABBING him! (obviously the smaller guy was totally bewildered and was just trying to brush my mates hands off him, not aggressively, just being a bit pissy about it, instead of saying “hey, ok, what do you want me to do?”- its best to keep comms clear, friendly and to the point in a crowded noisy club- bit of advice from me to you on how to handle doormen should you need it).

One of the other doormen in the club, who has never set foot in a gym in his life as far as I know, smokes like a chimney, is about 12 stone ringing wet and 5 foot 6 came to my mates rescue.

This smaller but way more salty doorman zipped straight past me and the guy I had hold of, caught the guy my mate was trying to move on the fly and he was out the fire exit before my mate could even catch his bearings.
Obviously I was laughing at my mates total fuckwittery and mocked him severely for a long, looooong time, such is my kind forgiving nature.

But there was a serious element to the incident: as you might know door environments are very bitchy and competitive, I had brought this guy in and he couldn’t do the basics; grab someone and throw them out. So I knew I had to retrain him before the next weekend (and find an excuse for the other lads to see him drag someone out properly, which meant he was running round the 3 story two section club to every single incident that came over the radio until he got someone!)

Now I had done some training of doormen at this time. That’s how I got into door work. I was working a crappy admin job, but just happened to have been put on a desk with a doorman working for the biggest firm in Liverpool at the time. On the same desk was a guy training to join the marines and a semi pro bodybuilder.

It was a testosterone fest. We basically spent all day talking about fighting, training and swapping stories and techniques. Eventually we were all quietly let go, which was fine it was a crap job and by the time we left we had all started supplementing our incomes with doorwork anyway.

Well it wasn’t long before we were all in the gym training. My doorman mate brought some of his door colleagues along and they would say “what would you do if someone did this” and I would show them anything I knew from martial arts that I thought might work. Some of it was just thrown out immediately and laughed off, but some of it really stuck and they would come back with stories of how they had used it, which for me at age 22 was a huge buzz. Real doormen using stuff I had shown them in real fights!
I was positively giddy.

Because these lads were not like the people I was used to training with in traditional martial arts gyms, respectfully accepting everything that was shown them as gospel, everything had to be kind of “sparred” or “tested”.
I had to evolve the way I trained people... and quickly!
My only experience at that point was from training people at University, who were all scared of me and just did as I said. These lads were absolutely not scared of me and not up for blind obedience.

Scousers. What can I say?

If you couldn’t get it off whilst they were resisting it or sort of play brawling with each other it just got binned straight away.

“Dats Shite Dat Richie lad, do us another”

(translation: “that last technique you showed us simply wasn’t up to par good sir, may we please impose upon you for a canny replacement?”)

So rather than just show them techniques and then test them on each other I started coming up with drills that would let them do what they do on the door- which is NOT mostly whacking folk as many believe, but mostly “collaring” and “moving” to the ratio of 1% to 99% or LESS if you are doing your job properly, are on a good door and have good verbal skills.

This is where the idea of the “A to B” drill that forms the core of the DVD was born.

Let the “techniques” and strategies be born from and dictated by the pressure test simulations of the specific activity being performed rather than trying to shoe horn prescribed solutions into the context.

Anything will work under the right conditions, a practitioner skilful enough and an opponent weak or drunk enough.
What they wanted back then, what you want and need now is the stuff that is “highly likely to work” across a variety of conditions.
This is called “redundancy”. That a strategy or technique will “work” to some degree across a variety of favourable not just in the most favourable conditions.

“Yes Tony, your complex double chicken wing with thumb lock come along worked last weekend because the skinny teenager you were applying it to was pilled off his tits. Don’t be thinking its magic... it’s a piece of piss to avoid here let’s try it...”

And so on.

(Actually Tony is a real character, very into martial arts, who according to the other lads has successfully done a double knock out – yes punching two people at the same time- I wasn’t there, but that’s the story. I know he’s mad enough to try it, I personally can’t see how it would work though.... unless he caught them both whilst they were looking away from him... which I’m sure he wouldn’t do...)

That explains the history.

My second story is just a show off one, but you might like it:

Summer Tenerife in 2004.
Two lads who thought of themselves as “gangstas” just because they sold a bit of beak were refusing to pay for their drinks and refusing to get off the “terrace” (there is no wall between the bar area and the street in many bars in Tenerife, just a terrace to define the boundaries of the bar, so when you throw someone “out” your job is actually to get them off the “terrace”, they have come back “in” if they set foot on the terrace again).
They were sat at their table, which was a metre from the edge of the terrace, with two empty glasses in front of them, a pissed off looking cocktail waitress stood next to them, slouched in their chairs affecting an arrogant air.
To be honest these two tw*ts had been coming the raw prawn for a few days, pushing the boundaries so their cards were already marked. That was the problem with Tenerife, you would get idiots who were big fish in their tiny little scummy pond back home bringing their small town mentality over with them.

For some reason I was in a glum, stroppy mood that night and didn’t feel like arguing. And I usually love a good argument, as you may know.

So I just walked up to the one who was doing the silliest tough guy faces (too much “scarface” my love?) and asked quietly:

“Are you walking out or am I going to move you?”

“What are you going to fucking make me?” Sneer, sneer, looks to mate for reassurance. Coward.

I just stood and looked at him ( I usually handle these things with a bit of humour and high energy, the fear of being humiliated by a loud gregarious nutter usually greases the wheels in these “ego stand offs” but as I say for some reason I had a cob on that night)

“Are you going to walk or will I move you?”

He did a little snort laugh out of his nose and turned away from me.

I grabbed his arm at the wrist and elbow and I launched him, from his chair and into the street on his arse 3 metres away.

I think why this worked SO well on this occasion was 1. I was expecting resistance so I really gripped him explosively stepped back and sank my weight deep into it and 2. I don’t think the little sh*tbag had ever had anyone call his bluff before and wasn’t expecting me to actually chuck him!


I was as surprised at just how well it had worked as he and the onlookers were, but I kept a poker face. “Yeah, I’m wong fei hung, dont mess, mmmkay?”

I’ve always felt it’s better to over commit and have something work MORE than you needed than be a bit ginger about it which gives them time to improvise a counter.

The longer you are in contact the more likely he is to adapt to your strategy, so you want it to be shocking and quick and over.

The technique, some will be displeased/bewildered to hear is actually from classical tai chi (I told you I skimmed from multiple sources) and is a great way of getting someone in front of you who is NOT fighting you (if they are trying to bash your face in then you would need to be very skilled or lucky or just totally outclass your opp. to get this one off) but is actively resisting you, to a space a few metres behind and away from where you were originally stood (it’s a “projection” a kind of throw, but you don’t throw them down you throw them away from you).

Now this move does take a bit of skill, sensitivity and timing, AND you must both take them by surprise and COMMIT to it
But

a. I show you exactly how to develop that skill and timing with a special drill on the DVD with step by step instruction.
b. It’s well worth the effort.
Just to finish the story, his mate found it an easy decision to choose to walk off the terrace, which was wise as the other doorman I was on with who had stood silently by throughout the exchange is a very well known “traveller” and bare knuckle boxer in Tenerife who would have happily smashed the lads faces for them had we not managed to find a more gentle resolution.
Now the lad was unharmed, his mate moved, I didn’t compromise my own safety by getting unnecessarily involved in a “clinch and wrestle”, we didn’t play pat a cake whilst I tried for an “arm lock” or “come along” and there was no undignified huff and puffing sprawling brawling effort to shove him out; one second he was sat down in a chair in my bar, the next he was in the street.
The stiff minded, scared to death fantasists will whimper “but if you give him space he can draw a knife”. Correct, many things can happen in a Universe of infinite possibility.
If only I could make people invincible eh?
To be honest with you, this type of thing is what I got into martial arts for. Ok over they years my desire was supplanted for something that was more visceral, more violent, more combative. But when I was a lot younger I wanted to get into martial arts not to head butt, eye gouge, smash head into wall and stomp,stomp, stomp.
I suppose it’s the notion of handling violence with a bit of skill and grace. When its low level violence you are dealing with it is possible. Anyway, that’s my show off story.
If you’re interested in learning lower level techniques and strategies to Control and Restrain like arm manipulations (not locks), projections (not throws), head controls and tie ups pertinent to C+R (tie ups delivered from the back and side that don’t keep you locked to the person you are moving) then:

The Control and Restraint DVD is available now on Special Offer and runs for 45 minutes

www.streetfightsecrets.com/special_offer.html

Sounds really cool ... not anything I thought of getting before, but, damn, I think you made me want to buy it

maija wrote:

Sounds really cool ... not anything I thought of getting before, but, damn, I think you made me want to buy it

...what she said.

and i get the whole 'don't do it half way' piece. i had a learning curve in one event.
started slow--took endlessly long, stopped the brain fart and exelerated, and it was
done in seconds. i was bent on looking nice to others, and it actually turned out
looking worse [security job]. more drama [voices/noises/movement] comes out
with gentle indecisive commitment. sounds cool what you mentioned.

maija wrote:

Sounds really cool ... not anything I thought of getting before, but, damn, I think you made me want to buy it

clever mind manipulator that I are... Maija I think you will like it, it smells of CMA to the bone (its applied tai chi with a harder muay thai/wrestling/MMA feel)

Russ, there is some military maxim like, the longer you are in contact with the enemy the more opportunity they have to adapt to your strategy, something like that

I never want people to feel like they options, like "maybe I will do as he wants, or maybe...." it just is this way and anyway its already happening.... happend.... oh look Im already outside in the street

Ok Rich you got me. I just got back from a week in Las Vegas refreshing my arrest and control skills and you hit me with
this? Now I'm going to spend some more money that the Mrs. will be shaking her head over, but it will be very interesting
to see what you've got up your sleeve.


Keep safe and train hard/smart, Mark H

the synchronicities abound mate, I released this DVD now because I got hammered with requests from UK and US cops over Christmas... looks like I'll be working with some UK police trainers soon too, but as I told them, what I'd like to do is pool all the LEO clients we have (US, UK, Brazil and Canada, that Im aware of) and ask them to tell me how to structure the course, focussing on their particular concerns

so there will be some kind of police focussed package coming out in the next few months, I'd like you to be part of the focus group to help design the syllabus and make sure we are covering all the concerns PROPERLY thats if you have time mate and or of the inclination mate

I dont want this to be a shoehorning exercises whereby I adapt what i already do to what police might want, I want the police to dictate the focus and structure of the material based on the environment they work in

ive never been a cop so... it only makes sense

I have always felt that control and restraint has been overlooked as it will never work. While many police have used such philosophies for many years. There have been a number of occasions where I have controlled or put somebody down and quickly. Being a Hapkido practitioner gives me quite a variety of tools to employ at a moments notice to restrain an individual. Fortunately you don't need that broad or vast array of techniques to accomplish control or restraint. As far as technique goes, you can get away with only knowing an arm bar because you can get to that from just about anything. But it's always nice to have a few more tricks up your sleeve.

Roadkill, want you on that focus group too if your're interested mate

Richard Grannon wrote:

Roadkill, want you on that focus group too if your're interested mate

Sure thing...

OK, Rich this is going to be a tightrope walk for me but I'm interested. The reason I say it is a tightrope is I have a strong desire to help you, but I am also considered a Master instructor for a fairly well known company that trains police and security here in the U.S. that is just now expanding into Europe. When I have a little more free time I'll try to send you a PM with more details. If you have a specific email address you want used you can contact me at the one listed in my profile.

The thing I really gravitate towards in your material is the mental aspects to help bring people into a more combative mindset, not to say I haven't picked up plenty from your physical material, but the mindset is the aspect that really drew me to your stuff initally.

Keep safe and train hard/smart, Mark H

i think its almost definitely going to represent a conflict of interests then mate to be fair, look forward to getting your feedback on the c+r dvd tho

Rich,

First, Thanks for understanding my dilema but I can still help you from the stand point of questions and concerns for LEO's in this kind of training. Second , anything I learn from somebody such as yourself is used to augment my personal training buidling on top of a base from the system I currently use and teach. If I do bring a concept out that I learned from someone else I give full credit for that idea and point them toward the source, this to me is a basic and honorable thing to do.

I'll be sending you an email with my list of concerns and challenges in building any system for LEO and Security officers and a little about the system I currently base on. I think they do the best job so far that I've seen, but there is always room for improvement. In the end my goal is to help as many people in the above mentioned fields do thier jobs as safely and as professionaly as possible. I want them to go home to thier families and loved ones both physically and emotionally intact.

I have yet to find any one system that does this and that is why I am willing to help point anyone to the challenges and concerns when it comes to developing something better. Give me a few days to piece my thoughts together and I''l send them to you.

Keep safe and train hard/smart, Mark H

Quote :

I have yet to find any one system that does this and that is why I am willing to help point anyone to the challenges and concerns when it comes to developing something better. Give me a few days to piece my thoughts together and I''l send them to you.

thanks mate, much appreciated