As mentioned in my previous article (Training for Reality Part 1: Aggression), my writing comes not from the fantasy-world of a Hollywood screenwriter, nor from the rampant imagination of a teenage boy who has played too many computer games. Rather, my experience has been first-hand, working both with and against some of the most violent people imaginable.
I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by people who are the ‘real deal,’ and have had to use their teachings myself, in reality, against people who were trying to do me significant harm. My writings and thoughts are based not on what looks good in a dojo exhibition, nor what will work within the rules and confines of sporting combat. Mine is a world forged in reality, where a momentary lapse in concentration can be met with a multiple-opponent stomping or, in some cases, a cold slab and a toe tag.
Please do not read my words lightly, for they were most certainly not written that way.
Clothing: When you train, how are you dressed? Do you wear baggy shorts, or loose-fitting gi trousers that allow a full-range of motion when executing high kicks or powerful knees or dynamic sweeps and complicated submissions that make you resemble a sweaty pretzel?
Great, good, fantastic. Now do yourself a favour and for each class that you advertise as being for reality, for being self-defence, then wear jeans. Wear your office suit. Wear your work uniform. I once worked at a 4-Star hotel and got talking with the assistant manager, as we shared a love of martial arts. She told me, quite proudly (and rightfully so) that she trained twice a week in TaeKwonDo. She told me she went to the TKD club because every once in a while they would have a wedding reception at the hotel that would turn nasty (two families who don’t like each other with a free bar is never going to end well), and knowing she had the ability to drop people with a swift kick to the head gave her the confidence to do her job. It’s worth keeping in mind that this is a lady that always wore two-inch heels and a skirt that always came down below her knee.
How the hell was she supposed to kick anyone in the head unless they were laying down is beyond me. Now, let’s say something had occurred and this assistant manager had attempted a high kick, her leg would not have gotten very far at all, her element of surprise would have been lost, and whomever she was having a problem with would have in all likelihood taken the initiative and clobbered her.
Let us take it a step or two further. If it’s the dead of winter, you’re wearing your knee-high water-proof boots, thick, puffy winter coat, you’ve got massive gloves on that restrict your gripping ability, and you might be weighed down with heavy bags of shopping. Have you trained for this? Have you worn said items in your classes to be ready for this scenario? I myself am a big Judo fan, however as the great Dave Turton pointed out, what if you’re on holiday at the beach? The guy you get into a fight with is slathered in sunblock, the adrenalin is making him sweat, grabbing a hold of him will be like trying to grip a wet bar of soap, and he’s got no handles. How are you going to grab him to throw him? It’s this mindset that has led me to believe that everyone, regardless of style, should have a regular session where you don’t train in appropriate gear.
Imagine you’re at a formal event and you’re in your fanciest clothes. Does the jacket allow you the shoulder movement to throw a punch? Do the shoes allow you the grip or stability to throw a person? Does your dress allow you to execute any of your favourite techniques (keeping mind that a lot of your favourite techniques even at the best of times might not be as realistic as you’d like them to be)?
Another thing to consider is baggy vs tight. If you’re a long-distance runner or cycler, there’s a good chance you’ll be wearing a skin-tight ensemble, that leaves nothing to grab on to and even less to the imagination. Now, if you have trained your grappling and you have a tendency to use your sleeves to complete your techniques (mostly chokes and strangles), and you then get into a confrontation when your clothing is essentially a second-skin with nothing to grab, that split-second of distraction (the sleeve should be there for me to grab, where the hell’s the sleeve!?!) can be all the other guy needs to escape the position and gain the upper-hand.
The flip of this of course is if you tend toward wearing quite baggy clothing. If the clothes you wear are more voluminous than what you train in, then you must take this into account. What I mean by this is, what are the chances of you getting caught in your own clothing, and at best not being able to complete a technique, and at worst tying yourself up and tripping yourself over? I urge you to watch Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie from UFC 1 (November 12, 1993) to see evidence of this. Even with a relatively snug gi, Gracie’s jacket still manages to tangle Shamrock when the latter falls back for a heelhook (Gracie would end the fight by using his own sleeve to choke Shamrock, Gracie would also do the same at UFC 2 to beat Remco Pardoel).
Fast-forward to May 1, 2000, and the opening round of Pride Fighting Championship’s Grand-Prix, and we see Royce Gracie getting his gi used against him in his epic 90-minute battle with Kazushi Sakuraba. By this point, most MMA leagues had agreed upon a formalised ‘uniform’ that didn’t involve the gi, and most competitors could see the pitfalls of wearing one. I’m hoping you see the correlation with a ‘street situation’ here.
With clothing, the general factors to keep in mind will always be things like;
Range-of-Motion (will my apparel allow me to move freely?)
Volume (is there enough material for me to use as a weapon or for the other guy to use as a handle?)
Density (if grabbed will my clothing item rip or be sturdy enough to hold? There’s a Judo/Jujitsu gis are thicker than those found in Karate)
Heat (how hot am I going to get fighting in it?)
In closing, I’m not saying don’t dress smartly, slutty, tightly or loosely. What I’m saying is be aware of the clothing item’s limitations, and tweak your training around that. I’m very much a believer that self-defence training should be the First Aid kit in the office or the spare tire in the car; there when you need it, but shouldn’t be at the forefront of every decision throughout your day. It’s a back-up for if something should go wrong.
So wear what you want to wear, but just don’t expect it to do on the street what your gi/rash guard and shorts do in the dojo.
Train hard, train smart, stay safe.
He can be contacted at rbud.co.uk
- Training for Reality Part 5: Games - May 14, 2021
- Training for Reality Part 4: Numbers - May 13, 2021
- Training for Reality Part 1: Aggression - May 12, 2021
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