Weaponizing the Mind and Body

 Weaponizing the Mind and Body
 -original article Sept 1 2014

How much do you really know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight? -Tyler Durden, Fight Club

  In the 30+ years I’ve been involved in martial arts training, my number one goal for doing so has never changed; self protection. I truly enjoy the sportive aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the aesthetic movements of Aikido and the classical applications of Japanese Jujutsu. But, my goal and primary reason has always been to ‘weaponize’ my mind and body. This is done by connecting the mind (purpose) and body together as one single unit.

  "Weaponization" is the process of adding tools to your mental and physical ‘toolbox’ which will allow you to be as combat ready as possible when violence comes your way. Martial training is as much mental training as it is physical.  If you break under pressure, all the training in the world will do you no good. 

  Violence, in its truest form, is quick, unpredictable and messy. 

  My weaponization started in 1992. I was 18 at the time and driving to work downtown. I came to a stop light and two cars pulled along side me. I noticed three males jump out of the vehicles and begin to yell and curse at me. Their alcohol-fueled rage led one of them to punch out my passenger side window. As you can imagine, I felt helpless, victimized and unsure of myself. It was a form of bullying that I promised myself I’d never stand for it again.

 I took my martial art training much more seriously after this. I began to read and study literature on combative mindset, violence, gang mentality, law and conflict. I watched and studied literally thousands of hours of footage of violent encounters. I asked questions of experts in the field. I trained harder on the mats. I began my career as a bouncer that introduced me to a completely different side of humanity. I was involved in hundreds of physical altercations over my 18 years on the rope. After each conflict, I took the time to debriefed with myself, trying to understand what happened and how I reacted. I actually reviewed CCTV footage of these encounters to help me break down my actions and reactions.
 

That experience working the ropes shaped my martial art training and application. I discarded techniques that were cumbersome, impractical or didn’t survive the pressure test of reality. I got bashed around in those early years before I figured out the groove of violent encounters. I faced drunk, sober and high individuals during this time. It all added pieces to the puzzle.
 

Some 10 years after that initial bullying event when I was in my car, I found myself faced against three males while standing outside during my work’s Xmas party in 2003. This time, the stakes were much higher. One male approached me from the left and ask for the time. His two buddies moved in from the right and were stone faced and quiet. I moved back and to the side as to align them ‘in a row’. Being surrounded isn’t something I am fond of. 
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Having spent some time educating myself on violence, I immediately knew this was an "interview"-a technique used by criminals to distract and then attack. One of the quiet one’s lunged at me. The other two tried to swing at my head. 

“Get his money,” one yelled. I was in the middle of a mugging. I was alone. And the stakes where high. The potential for serious injury facing three opponents was no joking matter. I head butted the first male several times as fast and violently as I could. My purpose and goal was to utterly destroy my target with a level of violence that exceeded his.  I moved in a circle avoiding being pinned down in one spot. As the other two grabbed and swung at me, I threw punches and elbows to keep them away. I was keenly aware of my angles in the ambush.

  After what seemed like an eternity (time often speeds up or slows down when adrenaline dumps occur. Its called ‘tachypsychia’ or time in the mind), one of my fellow bouncers (all 5'7'' 240 lbs of him) emerged from the club and grabbed onto one of the assailants. We were entangled in a scrum of some sorts. That’s when one of the male’s reached into his pocket and pulled out a six inch blade. I heard the "clack" of it opening.

  I yelled ‘knife, knife, knife’ to my partner and I kicked the blade-wielding male with everything I had in the lower pelvis. My buddy then tossed him 10 feet down the street. Injured and rattled, the group scattered.

 This situation made it perfectly clear to me that specific moves are not planned when violence occurs suddenly. Your flinch response and training will dictate how you react before you realize what is going on. The one thing that was clear was my mind telling me to ‘survive’.

I had put in a lot of training and personal effort to weaponizing. I was by no means the toughest person on the planet. But I didn’t have to be. I just needed to be tougher and SMARTER than the situation I was faced with.

How to Weaponize the Body: 

Train with purpose. Train smart (or try). I have a litany of injures from training. Its something most people have if they do combat arts long enough. I am not proud of them but physicality of this nature will cause the body to break down. Accidents, trips, falls, joint locks, strikes….they all add to the list. However, it allows you to understand the limits of your body.You need to train and repeat techniques over and over in order to have it kick in WITHOUT thought when its go time. If you want to be tough, you must do tough things. Its that simple.

One of the advantages to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that it’s an art that allows full resistance training with another person. You get to understand body movement, proper breathing under stress (stress inoculation), and the aspects of grappling, joint and choke manipulation. It is awesome for combat training. One of the advantages to Japanese Jujutsu is that it gives you an understanding of standing movement,throws, weapon protection, strikes and to be honest, lethality of technique. I use the two in conjunction as my toolbox. Yours may be different.

But you HAVE to train. I see so many people in professions that need combative skills but lack the desire to train in them. This is incredibly dangerous in my opinion. Typically the "I've never needed it yet" attitude is the most prevalent excuse. That's like saying one doesn't need to learn how to swim until you find yourself in the deep end. You must be pro-active in your training.

Work out. Build up your body to be as strong as possible. The tougher the body, the more it can take when physicality comes your way. I am now stronger, bigger, faster and have more endurance than I ever have had. This was a game changer for me. Combine your healthy living with your martial training. Its important. 

How to Weaponize the Mind: 

Preparing for violence is a strange thing really. You never know how you’ll react until you are in the middle of it. Physical training will help you but it is no guarantee that you’ll be ready to rock when attacked. Proper mental preparation using visualization is key. Also, experience is a teacher that just can't be over-looked. The best people I've seen perform in violent encounters are the one's who are used to violent encounters. Learn from the experienced.

In my opinion, there is a desensitization that needs to occur with violence. We don’t all have the ‘benefit’ of being in professions that have violence in them so you need to start to see what it looks like. You need to understand that you are in control of your mental mindset. Re-enforcement of positive  (never say die) attitude is of utmost importance. Your drive could be personal survival (which it should); it could be family related (your need to return home to see them), or the drive to protect others from harm. You need these basic goals to be burning like a supernova in your brain.  History is replete with examples of humans overcoming situations under the most extreme situations. 

 So, in order to weaponize the mind and body, you need to get them in synch with one another. I am not suggesting everyone’s goals are the same. You may train martial arts for sport, exercise or personal growth. Self-defense or weaponization maybe low on your list. That’s fine....Just make sure you surround yourself with someone who has it high on his or hers.

You don't choose the day...the day chooses you. Are you ready?

Stay Sharp.
Ari Knazan