We have spent years cultivating a bulletproof defense against attackers from our very own style, often in a predetermined fashion, and always in that conditioned environment. We have always strengthened ourselves physically but rarely have we touched upon psychological aspects of the all too horrific idea of imminent street attacks.

How's this for a statement? A 20-year veteran of Martial Arts is looked upon as a self defense ‘expert', and the ironic thing is, few people who fit this bill have ever had to defend themselves.

Imagine having the ability to implant artificial memories into a fighter's brain that can be recalled instantly in a crisis situation giving the fighter needed tactical solutions.  That's exactly what the United States military and law enforcement agencies have been doing for years to prepare their personnel for conflict. Unfortunately, civilian martial artists have had the same access to these "implants" for years, but have virtually ignored this growing trend.

Artificial experiences may sound futuristic, and in some cases how they are achieved are, but the basic techniques used by today's military and law enforcement to produce efficient fighters is anything but "high-tech." The key component to any realistic conflict based program is Conflict Scenario Training. In other words, role-playing; using actors to simulate a potential conflict likely to be encountered.

Examples of scenarios used by today's military include battlefield conditions, counterterrorism, peacekeeping missions, and other military objectives. Law enforcement scenarios include crimes in progress, shoot-don't-shoot situations, and arrest and control tactics. For the martial arts world the possibilities for realistic scenarios are endless: simulated carjackings, muggings, rape prevention, robberies, hate crimes, gang attacks, etc.

Learning Modality

The human brain is a pattern-seeking, pattern-detecting organ. Our behaviour, including future behaviour is based upon our past experiences. We learn through three levels of modality: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), and kinaesthetic (touching). When you participate in scenario training you are actually stimulating all three levels of the learning modality. The more realistic the training the more powerful the experience will be. Although scenario training is not "real" in the true definition of the word, scenarios trigger the same psycho physiological responses that are experienced in an actual crisis. Thus, participation in scenarios creates artificial memories that have the same "feel" as The real thing, and are recalled just like real experiences.

Reproduced with the permission of Jim Wagner.