Combative MindsetHome > Articles > Combative MindsetLearn More Coming Soon!Related Pages Student Stories Principle vs. Concept vs. Technique What is self defense? Teachable Attitude Body Talk Combative Mindset Warrior's Mindset Words from Francis Fong If attitude was all it took, we'd all be famous... Is there value in your art?Many years ago while in the military, Monroe, a good martial artist and friend, was having problems with an ex-marine. The bully was rather large and stocky and had threatened to beat him up the next time they ran into each other. Worried, Monroe approached me about training with full contact. After several weeks of badgering, I conceded and set aside some time when Monroe and I could spar in private. Monroe wasn't an average Martial Artists by any means. His speed was incredible, and his forms were precise and crisp. He could perform the movements with well-practiced execution. I was always impressed by him. Technically, his skill far surpassed mine and he had taught me a great deal. As we stood apart from each other (wearing plenty of protective equipment), I assumed the role of the Marine and would not use any type of martial arts, just throw kicks and punches.. Monroe pressed into a relaxed fighting stance and raised his arms, or at least he tried. I screamed as loud as I could, he froze and in that instant, I charged knocked his arms aside proceeded to pound him and he was knocked off his feet. Total time of the encounter was under 5 seconds.After he caught his breath and recovered, we repeated the exercise. Each time I used a new tactic and often enough, I would wade through his blows and strike him hard enough to stun him. His punches were ineffective and light, and he projected fear after the first encounter. He eventually began to cringe and cover himself when I struck him. Needless to say, we ended our session due to concern that someone might become injured. Luckily, Monroe never encountered the bully again.What happened here?Monroe was a good martial artist having trained far more than I had at the time, but he did not understand the mindset of the fighter. When confronted with a combat situation similar to real-life, he froze, forgot his Martial Training, and became nothing more than a victim. His training had essentially amounted to nothing in regards to self-defense. Seeing this, I realized that fighting is composed of many aspects, with one of the most important being mindset.What is mindset?For the fighter, mindset is the conscious or subconscious willingness to commit harm (lethal or non-lethal) against another. When engaging in combat, mindset, more often than not, will be the determining factor as to your success or failure, regardless of technical proficiency. Anybody can train in a martial skill, but few have the mind and will to use their skills for killing or serious injury. Mindset's partner is "mental trigger," and this trigger is the defining moment that forces you to engage your opponent with the goal of injury or death. I elaborate more on mental trigger below.How is the combative mindset developed?Culture, rearing, personality, moral upbringing, and social values are issues that play a decisive factor, and the ability to suspend any one of these varies by the individual. Western society generally teaches violence as a last resort and we are conditioned throughout life to refrain from hurting others, either through threat of imprisonment, religion, or social acceptance. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer for developing mindset or teaching one how to develop it. It requires a forceful commitment of the suspension of conditioned behavior, which can be activated consciously or subconsciously by the mental trigger that must be defined internally by the individual.For the sake of thought, I have provided below a list of general rules for developing the fighter's mindset, and those with military experience might find them familiar. These are by no means definitive but are merely a guide and most overlap in one way or another.1. DEFINE YOUR MENTAL TRIGGERWhat will make you want to hurt someone? What about killing someone? A threat to your family? A threat to yourself? Foremost in developing mindset is the defining of your own personal mental trigger-a point in time where you commit yourself fully to the use of force with the intent to stop your opponent at any cost. 2. CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONSThe mindset of the fighter must be controlled, collective, and calculating. Uncontrolled anger or fear will allow your opponent's tools to be used against you, even chide you into activating your mental trigger. The choice to react with violent force must be your choice and not be induced due to heated passions. This may seem contradictory to responding to an attack, but it is not. In all conflicts or events preceding, the option to return violent action remains your choice."Conflict is inevitable, Combat is an option".3. ACCEPT THAT YOU WILL GET HURTMany let the fear of pain or physical damage traumatize them to inactivity in a confrontation. Regardless of technical skill, you will at one time or another get hurt. Fear can control you and knowing that you may be seriously hurt or even die can cause immobilizing panic. The fighter must accept the reality of possible grievous injury and maintain control of his emotions.4. KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSESA small 130 lb. should not try to fight the way a strong 220 lb. would. A fighter must assess his strengths and weaknesses from a mental and physical standpoint. A fighter must be intimately acquainted with himself, his art, how they work together and choose his arsenal wisely. As an example, I may not be able to use Bong Sao effectively due to a physical problem, but on the other hand, my Taun and Lop Sao are extremely powerful; thus, Bong Sao would be a weakness while the others are strengths.5. KNOW YOUR ENEMY'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSESA good fighter should be able to size up a combatant instantly and have a generalized idea on how that person will fight. This ability is developed through what I call Combat Perception, which is also known as perception learning, and is comprised of three areas:Situational Awareness, Environmental Awareness, & Visual and Auditory Cueing.6. FIGHT YOUR FIGHT, NOT YOUR ENEMY'SWhat is the common denominator in regards to the losers in most UFC matches? They disregarded years of training in their particular art and tried to emulate their opponent. Here, we often see strikers try to grapple and vice versa. If you're a Wing Chun fighter, use your style of Wing Chun! If you are a kickboxer then use your style of kickboxing. The compliment of this is to force your enemy to disregard his own training. To do this you must be truthful with yourself. You must also know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your fighting style.7. DEVELOP YOUR OWN FIGHTING METHODOLOGY In addition to Knowing Your Own Strengths and Weaknesses, this is supremely important for being a successful fighter. Every fighter must take the time (over years of training) to develop a fighting strategy that works for that individual. It must never be stagnant and the fighter must be willing to adapt and change for true combat is dynamic and not static.8. ADAPT TO YOUR ENVIRONMENTPracticing in the gym is nice, but what happens if you try that lovely shifting strike on loose gravel on a hill or in six inches of snow? This is a part of the physical portion of Environmental Awareness, and the good fighter will have a fighting methodology or methodologies that adapt to any location.9. INTIMIDATE YOUR OPPONENTA fight can be won without a strike thrown if the opponent is intimidated. A good fighter should be able to intimidate with his body, his presence, and his mind. You should be able to portray a presence that states,"You may get me but, You WILL be hurt just as bad or worse. How badly do you want to find out?"10. ACCEPT MURPHY'S LAW AND NEVER ASSUMEEven if you are the grandmaster of 20 different martial art styles, Murphy's Law can beat you every time. Just as you throw that beautiful Wing Chun strike or that textbook perfect Muay Thai kick, you become entangled with something on the ground and you are now temporarily immobile. Your assumed quick win has suddenly become a fight for your life.These rules are not complete or written in stone by any means. Mindset is a complex topic that requires mental evaluation and instruction by the student upon themselves and the ability to suspend environmental conditioning. Is it necessary to become proficient at any martial art? No, but it is necessary to be able to define for one's self what will make you do what ever is necessary to survive a combat situation.In the arena of teaching Combative Mindset, the teacher may be able to instruct you in the art of fighting, but only you can define what causal events will lead you to becoming combative. You cannot be forced to fight and no amount of learned knowledge will matter if you will not morally accept the consequences of such an action.Therefore I leave you with these questions. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET? WHAT WILL YOU FIGHT FOR? HOW COMMITTED ARE YOU TO THAT CAUSE AND WHY?9/13/08The Winning Jiu-Jitsu Mindset Ive been thinking about this for some time, trying to come up with a good way to write about developing a winning Jiu-Jitsu mindset. I keep coming back to thinking about this from a military or law enforcement stand point. I know I touch on this in small segments during class, delving out maxims or ways to think about your attacks and defenses, but Ive always wondered if there was a way to mold all of these aphorisms together.

This is not intended to be a guide or all inclusive list of strategies for winning. These are simply some of the things I think about and have passed on to my students to help them build their winning mindset.

Weve all heard Rickson Gracies analogy about how Jiu-Jitsu is like a chess match. When I start a match, my opponent and I have equal options. My goal is to whittle away my opponents options until he has none. In other words, obtain a check mate.

You must insist on what you want: Whether its a guard pass or a defense or an attack, you have to insist on getting it. As hard as your opponent insists on getting what he wants, you must insist even more on getting what youre after.

You have to win: There is no second place on the battle field. There is no time out or referee to call foul when youre losing the fight. If youre not winning, there isnt anyone who is going to come in a take over the fight for you. You have to dig deep and persevere. Of course this sounds harsh in light of the fact were not trying to do bodily harm to our fellow human beings, but put into perspective, this makes sense.

Never accept a bad position: When your opponent is fighting to pass your guard and finally begins to squeak past, dont accept it. Continue to defend as long as he continues to attempt the pass. This goes hand in hand with insisting on what you want. Your opponent certainly is, so you should also.

Have empathy: It is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or emotion. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself. It is important to note that empathy does not necessarily imply compassion. You know what its like to be defending a nasty choke or any submission attempt. It sucks! You know what its like to be dominated while your opponent has you mounted. You need to remember how that feels when youre attacking and dominating as well. Dont be too quick to give up the arm lock or choke. Dont be too hasty in backing off of an attack. As soon as you do, your opponent is feeling relieved and will start thinking about his next attack. You know how thankful you are when your opponent gives up on his submission attempt. Dont afford him the same kindness.

Make your opponent pay for trying to make you hurt: One of my favorite Fedor quotes goes something like this.

When I'm dominating my opponent, and I can see they're in pain, I ease up on them so they can see I don't really want to hurt them. But sometimes they take advantage of my kindness and try to come back and hurt me, so I have to make them pay for their mistake.

If they try to triangle choke you, it is your duty to defend in a manner that will make them think twice about ever trying to submit you in that way again. Remember, they are trying their best to dominate and submit you, so you shouldnt feel bad. Besides, you dont have to worry about really hurting them. If theyre feeling too much pain, they can always tap out.

Make your opponent pay for his mistakes: If he stands up in your guard and gives you a foot, take it! If he gets sloppy with his guard, take advantage of it and pass. If tries to buck you off of the mount and extends an arm (or two) submit it.

Dont bite off more than you can chew: In other words, sometimes you cant get from point A to point D in one movement. Sometimes you have to take smaller steps to make sure youre covering all of your bases.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast: Dont try to go too fast, too soon in training. Even when you think you know the movement. Forcing yourself to do the movement or technique faster often times creates a negative result. Always start slow and the speed will come naturally. Going full throttle after ten reps because you think you have the move down will not make you better. Maybe after youve down a few thousand reps, you might be ready.

Let your body do what your brain is telling it to do: This is an interesting one. Often times youre in one of those positions where you know what you need to do next, but you cant seem to get your body to go that way. You might feel like youre too exhausted or dont quite have the right leverage. Sometimes you just need to listen to your brain and do it. Even when you think you cant muster the strength or leverage, you just need to move. In my mind, I tell myself, move forward. Thats not to say Im literally wanting to move my body in a forward direction. Im simply telling myself to take the next step.

Dont hesitate: This applies to many areas, but lets focus on submissions. Sometimes you may have a limb isolated, but dont feel like youre quite in the absolute best position to execute the submission. You hesitate for a moment and your opponent wiggles free. Now youre back to square one. Dont hesitate. Its not a perfect world. The dynamics of a grappling match rarely afford you with pristine positioning, so you must take what you have. I cant tell you how many times my opponent told me afterward that I had the submission ready to go, but didnt take it. I hesitated and he protected himself. I believe the tendency to hesitate comes from the feeling that one doesnt want to jeopardize a dominate position with a failed submission attempt. The result is that we play it too safe. Now Im not saying you should take unnecessary risks or recklessly go for a submission when its not practical.

Get on and get off the mat: One of the most profound bits of advice is when Shihan talks about what you need to do in a bout. He says; dont spend too much time on the mat. Get on the mat, do what you need to do to win the fight, and then get off the mat. Stay focused and get the job done quickly. If you mess around on the mat too much, youll start to get tired and you wont be as effective.

Take the path of least resistance: When you come up against a brick wall, dont try to move it. Go around it. There are many paths; you just have the find the best one. Sometimes it doesnt have anything to do with moving your opponent, but rather moving yourself.

The bait and switch: you must become a master of deception. Make your opponent think youre going for one thing, when in fact youre going for something else. It may be nothing more than a distraction to divert your opponents attention away from your true target. Or you may be implementing the standard double attack. You may have an armlock hooked up and ready to go. While your opponent is focused on defending this submission, you maneuver his other arm into position for a submission.

Lead the charge: Attack immediately. This is especially valid when youre going against a more experienced opponent. You may have only a few seconds to go for the attack, but you must begin the sequence. As long as you are attacking, your opponent is defending. The simple math here is that you are dictating the fight. You must maintain the charge as it were in order to maintain control of the fight. As soon as youre not doing this, your opponent is attacking, forcing you to react to his movements. Do not allow your opponent to lead the charge. This is also valid in other situations. If you have your opponent in your closed guard, and you do nothing, your opponent will begin working towards passing. If he is successful in opening your guard, he will most likely pass. Conversely, if youre leading the charge and opening your guard at your discretion, youre forcing your opponent to react to you.

Attack after the attack: This is a solid bit of advice from one of my students, Ryan, who also coaches high school wrestling. For example, when you take someone down, both you and your opponent often have this thought for a second or twoto take a break. "Oh, I got taken down so I need to regroup." After you take someone down, that is the best time to capitalize on that. Take them down, then immediately pass their guard. To take this a step further, after you pass your opponents guard, go for a submission right away. Too often I see someone pass an opponents guard to side-control. The top person is trying like heck to control the guy on the bottom, but the bottom fighter just wont settle into a position that allows you to start working on a submission. Start working on the submission! This may very well be the key to controlling him. He is now forced to defend and is not thinking so much about escaping your side-control.

This next one I learned from some Systema training I did awhile back. Its not as much a mindset, but rather something I try to do in a fight whenever I can.

Rearrange your opponents spine: In other words, put your opponents body in the worst possible position. Whenever you can maneuver your opponents body into a position so as to twist his spine into an unnatural position, this greatly reduces, if not eliminates, his ability to move and/or develop power. Now Im not talking about trying to break someones back or neck. Eddie Bravo has been doing the Twister for years and his victims have survived. A good way to put this into perspective is when you have someone in side-control and they begin to turn into you. When you hook your arm under their head and straighten them back out, you can place them flat on their back or continue controlling their head back even farther. In this way the spine is rearranged so that your opponent loses his power. Similarly, when you turn your opponents head away from you, this works on his spine.

In many respects, this is a difficult subject to write about. Most or all of these will make perfect since to some, and not so much to others. Its really all about perspective. A newer student may not have the experience or perspective to make sense out of some of the strategies. The more experienced students will have a better shot at it. The masters of the game might look at this as an incomplete montage of disconnected thoughts. Whatever the case, these are just my thoughts on the subject and Im certain Ive not included every aspect or strategy.

So to finish this off, what are some of your strategies that give you the winning Jiu-Jitsu mindset?Resolved QuestionShow me another Mindset of a fighter?Does anyone know any good books on the mental aspects of fighting, dealing with fear, creating an invincible fighters mindset etc. I've done a bit of martial arts training, am fit and healthy and probably could handle myself however I believe i would freeze or fall to pieces if I ever got into a real fight. How can I overcome this? 11 months agoReport Abuse by jwbulldo... Member since:05 February 2008Total points:12743 (Level 6) Add to My Contacts Block UserBest Answer - Chosen by VotersThere is no such thing as a invincible fighter. How many people know that fear is a great motivator? Hmmmm.

What is FEAR? False Evidence Appearing Real.

Many people are afraid of what they see in the shadows. But one must realize the shadows are always bigger than what caused the shadow.Source(s):Martial Arts since 1982Black Belt in Shorin RyuBlack Belt in JuJitsuBrown Belt in Judo 11 months ago100% 1 Vote Report Abuse Is this what you are searching for? Rating: Good Answer Rating: Bad Answer 0 stars - mark this as Interesting! Who found this interesting?Be the first person to mark this question as interesting! Email Comment (0) Save Add to private Watchlist Save to Yahoo! Bookmarks Add to My Yahoo! Add to Del.icio.us RSSThere are currently no comments for this question.* You must be logged into Answers to add comments. Sign in or Register.Other Answers (7)Top of FormShow: Bottom of Form by Tao Member since:17 May 2008Total points:5150 (Level 5) Add to My Contacts Block UserA book is probably not the way to get your body and mind ready to react calmly to a hostile situation. I would try "immersion" type training. Train with someone in "real combat" type scenario training. There are a lot of these schools - they train outside, in rooms containing furniture, against multiple opponents, etc. The best thing to do with a book is whack someone in the neck with it.Think of driver's ed - you may have read all about awareness, signs, etc. in class, but it's not the same as driving. There are unexpected situations that you have to negotiate through, some of which you cannot control. Having the experience of training in a semi-realistic environment will help. You'll gain confidence and environmental awareness under pressure at very least, which is vital to success.Check out some Krav Maga or "Reality Fighting" schools. If you are going to rely on books I hope you don't get in a fight outside of a library. 11 months ago0% 0 Votes 1 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by blowbybl... Member since:28 November 2007Total points:2420 (Level 3) Add to My Contacts Block UserFear is man made you were not born with fear just know that it is there but don,t let it over take you I have been in over 100 fights and I can tell you it was always there what help me was I had to get in there and fight the want was stronger in me than the fear 99% of the really good fighters have fear they just manage it better than most people if you are going to fight some one and you don,t have butterflys then you do have a problem every fighter deals with this in his own way if you do what your supposed to do before the fight just get in there and every thing will turn out all right now if you don,t train right you should be worried. Just relax and consontrate onwhat your going to do when you get in there I use toalways think how happy the crowed was going to be when they saw me fight I always gave them a show. What I have told you took me two years to learn. 11 months ago0% 0 Votes 0 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by Trent Member since:23 March 2008Total points:3991 (Level 4) Add to My Contacts Block UserI do not know any books about it. All you have to do is suppress the fear and anxiety. I am sure that there have been things that you have not wanted to do before and have done it anyway. It is the same thing. I have been in a ton of fights and the anxiety is always there. Take it, suppress some of it, but use the rest. Use the nervous energy to make you more cautious and aware. You are going to get hit and once you do, you will get a rush and realize that it is not as bad as you thought. 11 months ago0% 0 Votes 0 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by Carrot Member since:27 March 2008Total points:1368 (Level 3) Add to My Contacts Block Userits something your gunna want in yourself mantheres tons of fighters who wrote books talking about themselves but there not you

maybe your problem is thinking your gunna get tapped out so you avoid ground situation

i have a fear im gunna get knocked out, so i tend to use more takedowns and try to submit people or out wrestle them so i can work some ground and poundi know in my head i can take the punches and kicks

you have to focus on yourself think whats your opponents weakness, forget being afraid of taking this or thatlook over at the guy standing in your way and think hes trying to take away my glory, trying to ruin my pride, this man is gunna take my money that i've come all this way to get(should there be winning money)no one can really tell you how to focus you have to do it yourself

i see my opponents as a wall and my fists and legs are my sledgehammersits my job to take down that wall and nothing is gunna stop me from getting to the other side of itits worked out pretty well too 11 months ago0% 0 Votes 0 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by justin Member since:01 June 2008Total points:130 (Level 1) Add to My Contacts Block UserFighting is dishonorable but if you think you have to compete then my advice would be lose your fear or your going to get beat every time.Leave what's on the outside of the ring out there,because if you bring anything in the ring with you,you're bringing weakness with you. 11 months ago0% 0 Votes 0 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by graeme patrick Member since:26 May 2008Total points:440 (Level 2) Add to My Contacts Block Userthe gify of fear by gavin de bekker doesnt exactly teach you to surpress fear but it does help you acknowledge it and te recognize threats before it becomes impossible to avoid. 11 months ago0% 0 Votes 1 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by stslavik Member since:27 April 2008Total points:4159 (Level 4) Add to My Contacts Block UserThe Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker is a fantastic book on recognizing fear and understanding how to overcome it.

On Killing by Dave Grossman is great for understanding violence, response to it, and coping with the aftermath of combat. It's more research than advice, but can give you a place to start understanding people's response to fighting.

I also recommend Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. A bit "sit-around-and-hug new age garbage" but can teach some great lessons about tuning out your mind.

When you want to learn about overcoming fear in a fight, get hit. Train and force yourself to stand still and take a punch to the nose, then force yourself to keep going. It hurts a little, your eyes will well up, your nose will run, but you're still alive and you can still move. Train to move small and let the punches glide right past you. Don't think, just move -- when you think, you slow down and begin reacting. Train until you trust your -actions- (action is faster than reaction) to put you in the right spot.

One final tip: there's really no difference to your mind if you -actually- experience the fight or just imagine it. Sit comfortably and quietly, close your eyes, and visualize the fight scenario. Be realistic. Think about the way it builds, the way it starts, what attacks come in, and imagine yourself getting hit by each. When you feel actually tired from just imagining it (allow your body to twitch as it naturally desires to), then run through the scenario again. Each time before you get hit, move to a safe spot and throw a few strikes or whatever. Get in the mindset that you're not reacting, but making a separate action and initiating a new chain. Don't worry about it. Don't listen to your mind telling you "This is stupid". It's your ego talking, and your ego has no place in a fight -- It's what got you into that situation, trust your heart to get you out.

Most of all, just be relaxed. Smile -- smiling keeps you calm by releasing endorphins and unnerves your opponent (you're not supposed to be enjoying being attacked...) 11 months ago OODA Loop & Combat Mindset

Since 08-01-08 by Tom Perroni http://www.perronitactical.com/ The OODA Loop model was developed by Col. John Boyd, USAF (Ret). When Colonel John Boyd first introduced the OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop concept during the Korean War, he was referring to the ability possessed by fighter pilots that allowed them to succeed in combat. It is now used by many other Combat oriented organizations.

I believe that in order to use the OODA Loop it must be used in conjunction with the Combat Mindset for it to be effective in a Gunfight.

What is Combat Mindset? For the fighter, mindset is the conscious or subconscious willingness to commit harm (lethal or non-lethal) against another. When engaging in combat, mindset, more often than not, will be the determining factor as to your success or failure, regardless of technical proficiency. Anybody can train in a martial skill, but few have the mind and will to use their skills for killing or serious injury. Mindset's partner is 'mental trigger,' and this trigger is the defining moment that forces you to engage your opponent with the goal of injury or death.

So how do you train in Mindset? Here is how we begin the Mindset portion of our training. Keeping in mind that Mindset is just one of the 3 main principals taught at Perroni's Tactical Training Academy. Mindset, Skills Training and Tactics. Here is how we teach Mindset:

Since 9/11 everyone is familiar with the "Color Code" used by the government (Dept. of Homeland Security) to indicate the terrorist threat level. However I was taught that the originator of the "Color Code" was Jeff Cooper. Upon it's inception it had absolutely nothing to do with tactical situations or alertness levels. It had everything to do with the state of mind of the sheepdog. As it was taught to me by an instructor who got it straight form Mr. Cooper, it relates to the degree of danger you are willing to do something about and which allows you move from one level of mindset to another to enable you to properly handle any given situation as it progresses. In this 'Color Code" we have 4 colors that represent 4 mental states. The colors are White, Yellow, Orange, and Red. I have listed them with a definition of each:

White - Relaxed, unaware, and unprepared. If attacked in this state the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy and ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty your reaction will probably be, 'Oh my God! This can't be happening to me.' (Sheep)

Yellow - Relaxed alertness. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that 'today could be the day I may have to defend myself.' There is no specific threat but you are aware that the world is an unfriendly place and that you are prepared to do something if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and your carriage says 'I am alert.' You don't have to be armed in this state but if you are armed you must be in yellow. When confronted by something nasty your reaction will probably be, 'I thought this might happen some day.' You can live in this state indefinitely.

Orange - Specific alert. Something not quite right has gotten your attention and you shift your primary focus to that thing. Something is 'wrong' with a person or object. Something may happen. Your mindset is that 'I may have to shoot that person.' Your pistol is usually holstered in this state. You can maintain this state for several hours with ease, or a day or so with effort.

Red - Fight trigger. This is your mental trigger. 'If that person does 'x' I will shoot them.' Your pistol may, but not necessarily, be in your hand.

Black - complete mental shutdown.

I teach my students to always be in condition Yellow! And once you move to condition Orange this is when I believe the OODA Loop occurs. Please also note that one of the most frequently asked questions in my training class is: Should I shoot with one eye open or two eyes open?

This is where I tell my students that in a gunfight you will not have the ability to shut off one eye, because your brain is in Observation mode and you need to be able to take in any and all information. Using your dominate eye will be for precision or long range accurate shots only. You will most likely be shooting from the hip or "Zippering" your shots in this situation.

But before any of this happens in a split second you will have gone through the first of literally hundreds of OODA Loops in any given confrontation. The reason they are called loops is because you will continue to take in information and make decisions based on that info throughout the confrontation.

Experimenting with OODA Loops is a form of training, meaning; test your actions based on your decisions to see their outcome. Bad decisions do not negate or interrupt your opponents OODA Loop they actually enhance your opponents OODA Loop. Three basic outcomes in interrupting or disrupting your opponents OODA Loop are; they'll either become disoriented in attempting to make a decision, they'll make a bad decision or they will make a satisfactory decision only too late. Good training that makes you think "outside of the box", adding more and more situational awareness is the key to really utilizing Boyd's Loop.

OODA Loop defined:

Observation - Scan the environment and gather information from it.

Orientation - Use the information to form a mental image of the circumstances. That is, synthesize the data into information. As more information is received, you 'deconstruct' old images and then 'create' new images. Note that different people require different levels of details to perceive an event. Often, we imply that the reason people cannot make good decisions, is that people are bad decisions makers -- sort of like saying that the reason some people cannot drive is that they are bad drivers. However, the real reason most people make bad decisions is that they often fail to place the information that we do have into its proper context. This is where 'Orientation' comes in. Orientation emphasizes the context in which events occur, so that we may facilitate our decisions and actions. That it, orientation helps to turn information into knowledge. And knowledge, not information, is the real predictor of making good decisions.

Decision - Consider options and select a subsequent course of action.

Action - Carry out the conceived decision. Once the result of the action is observed, you start over. Note that in combat (or competing against the competition), you want to cycle through the four steps faster and better than the enemy, hence, it is a loop.

This is the component that enables us to make the 'Fight or Flight" decision. Will I stand and fight or will I tactically re-locate.

Here is a few Tactical Guidelines I teach my students:

-You will not rise to the occasion....... you will default to the level oftraining you have mastered.-Maximize you distance from danger.-Observe hands. -Shoot until the problem is solved.-Scan before re-holstering.-Do NOT give up if hit with a handgun round most people survive beinghit with a handgun round.-'Conflict is inevitable; Combat is an option'.-When you're doing OODA "loops" correctly; accuracy and speed improve together; they don't trade off.

Chris Pick Adjunct Instructor for Perroni's Tactical Training Academy also contributed to this article.

Some of the information in this article came from John Boyd, Donald Clark, and anonymous sources on the internet.

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Tom Perroni is the owner, President and Chief Instructor of Perroni's Tactical Training Academy. Pulling on a five-year law enforcement operational background, Tom has spent the last fifteen years delivering training to government, military, law enforcement and private security companies. Tom is also a Contract Instructor for Blackwater Training Center. Tom is also the Training Director for Golden SEAL Enterprises. Tom appreciates feedback and can be reached through the Contact page on his company website at http://www.perronitactical.com