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Historical Solo Combat Training: 1 by Mark Hatmaker

 


Warriors of yore and down thru the ages have sought ways to maximize skills via solo drills, be it the Roman Legionnaire at work “at his post” using his gladius, the Apache nawoɬkaadi with his array of stamina drills, to the dry-fire poker chip draws of the Western gunman.

Combat athletes of yore and thru today’s modern sportive fighters have been no less creative in finding ways to optimize solo training be it the use of halteres by the Ancient Hellene pankratiast, the heavy bag of the boxer, the countless mobility/agility drills of the grappler.

The Men on the Margin of yore [read that as badmen, malefactors, convicts, criminals and sundry personages] has likewise devised ingenious methods to whet their violence inducing ability be it cross-thumb cocking “games” with the straight razor of the Yellow Henry Gang of New Orleans, the  balancer les jambes of the Parisienne Apache, to the staggeringly inventive “bat flips” and like training concoctions of the incarcerated.

What all these Warriors, Fighters, Malefactors understood is a fact of economics: You will always have more time to train than you will training partners.

And…

That No partner does not mean No training.

Rather it means, getting inventive, getting creative, improving the one flesh and blood partner that the discipline can always count on showing up—the Self.

And…solo training does not have to mean subpar training. I remind one and all that boxers spend more time on bags, pads, ropes, and the road than they ever do before a sparring partner.

The elite Iowa wrestler spends more time “shadow wrestling” than they will ever accrue in a 3-period wrestling match.

The soldier spends more time in mock combat and war games than they will EVER spend in operation.

Case in Point: The raid in Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro, Operation Absolute Resolve, lasted a mere 2-hour-and-28-minutes, with an estimate of less than 30 minutes of boots on the ground; whereas the training for that specific mission [not counting all the training of the skills up to that point] took [according to classified material] a span of several months.

Or consider Charles Bronson “Britain’s Most Violent Prisoner.” His long time in lockdown, solitary, and with no access to training partners or designated gear has made him no less formidable.

All of these Warriors, Fighters, Athletes, Villains know that You will spend more time alone than with a partner.

Legendary samurai duellist Miyamoto Musashi in his Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone) states:

"Those who cannot be alone also cannot be honest, cannot be loyal, and cannot be anything".

Musashi refers here to both the mental and social stance of the warrior but also the realities of training partner access.

Can you motivate yourself to Do and to Go when there is no one else there? Or when you lack what you assume to be required gear?

The Sources

In my long running immersion into historical fighting I have encountered, cataloged, utilized, tested, and enjoyed many a solo training method.

Drills, exercises, combat simulations that build combat facility in a myriad of manners: Striking, be it kicking, boxing, or CQB.

Grappling facility from the mat mobility of the jiu-jitsu man, to the explosiveness of the wrestler, to the canny ground movement of the Plains Indian So’ko’ob’i Pa’hi’t’u [Earth Swimming] fighting tactics.

I have culled kicking drills from Carolina Gullah traditions and like Southern African influenced striking.

Innumerable boxing solo drills from the heyday of bareknuckle thru the Golden Age of the Sweet Science.

Solo weapon sets from the gunstock play of Okichitaw to the myriad “Scalp Dance” tactics of the Frontier.

These drills number in the hundreds and we will release them in staggered volumes throughout the coming year.

Volume 1, released May 1st, contains 21 Combat Drills

Among the Striking Drills featured:

·        The “Step-Into” Squats of the Gullah Kicking Tradition and how it builds legs, stamina, and educates balance and entry. [7 Varieties.]

On the Grappling Side of things, grapplers, groundfighters [and yes I’m talking to the Silat cadre as well] know that the ground is an entirely different environment. One that many ignore…at their peril.

There is a Brazilian proverb…

“The ground is the ocean, I am a shark and you do not know how to swim.”

To move from novice swimmer in the shallow end of the pool to fearless channel swimmer there are literally hundreds of savvy ground drills [my notebook has 483 listed.]

On this volume we offer…

·        Cervical Walk-Arounds to Build Upper Spine strength, flexibility, and fluidity.

·        Prone to Supine Swings to Find Hip-Pivot

From the Penitentiary Roster we will…

·        Use Stationary Gator Walks to build strength for grappling and pummeling.

·        Hand-Loaded Dead Jumps to build explosive snap for punches and upper-body strikes.

·        The Bear & Press. It is said many an inmate in Leavenworth did this for hours at a time to build an upper body that goes and goes.

From the Plains Tradition of “Earth Swimming”…

·        Council Sit Rises & Seated Stalking

·        Also “Balancing Toe Touch” a stamina game that was used in tribal games for bragging rights—be prepared for maximum abdominal burn.

From the Iñupiat Tradition…

·        Kneeling Jumps aka “Kayak Leaping.”

From the Frontier Scufflin’ Era a canny solo drill that requires you and a piece of rope or exercise band to build incredible balance in staving off takedowns.

And using a Wall…

·        The Flange and the Flange & Turn Drill to beat clinches and maneuver out of body locks.

·        The damned useful and ingenious Bounce & Curl Drill to educate baseline “get off the bottom” tactics.

And 2 Featuring a Floor Bag

·        The Spur-In & Drop-Off for educating Top-Saddle Entry

And…

·        The Knee-On Transition Drill ideal for grapplers staying aware of multiple opponents in a street encounter and Law Enforcement keeping a view while restraining and cuffing.

An introductory 21-Drills in all. A winning Blackjack Hand of Solo Drills covering all aspects of the fight from standing, takedowns to ground.

From strength, mobility, agility, to stamina.

All from the historical record. All combat skill builders!

Wanna get going on Musashi’s “Way Fighting Alone”?

Well, see HERE.

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