Sunday Evening Thoughts

Yesterday, I went to VioPrep Ground W.A.R. in the Bronx taught by Master Chim at the Jungle Gym.  While I have been exposed to this type of training before I do not rep it as much as I should and that was pretty clear during the drills.  That was quickly remedied, however, as the concepts are not new to me and the drills just needed to be worked out on the mat.  While the drills and various training aspects are very important, the mindset which provides for the function of these drills and training is the most important piece of VioPrep.  The mindset which is prevalent throughout this type of instruction, as well as others like Tuhom Tom Kier's and Bill Rapier's classes, are paramount for effectively overcoming most confrontations in the real world.

Everything has to be based in reality.  Everything.  We do not live in a vacuum, as Master Chim says, and we should not expect our techniques or thoughts to only be vetted in a vacuum.  He, and the other competent instructors I mentioned, are very correct in their assertions.  Reality is the stone which sharpens you.  Everything you do, everything you train, everything you think, has to be based in reality, contrasted against reality and given the brutal, uncompromising, attention which only reality can give.

As those who frequent this page know well, I am not a fan of "gaming" or competition shooting.  I often find myself speaking with people who actively shoot games and train for those games, those same people talk about how these games apply to the real world.  Some small parts may apply, like some gun handling, accuracy and precision, they are not the be all end all, and what is more important is the things you drill everyday become your default level of competence, your auto-pilot.  The fact is that it is still a game.  Being played in a vacuum of a square range.  It is not based in reality.  It is not vetted through reality and it is constrained by the rules of the game.  Reality does not have these rules, it cannot by its very definition.  This applies to BJJ, this applies to Krav, to MMA to everything you train which has rules.  MC has a great talk about this particular aspect of training as it applies to reality.  He is correct and the concepts apply to most games which are based, at their core, in violence of action and possible serious injury or death.

Sometimes you need to step outside of your comfort area and realize that reality does not care about how good something makes you feel, the only thing that matters is the logical application violence in a given situation.  Sometimes its significant, sometimes it only plays out in your head and never materializes.  The only way you can figure this out is in the real time speed of life.  "Do it live," as MC said.  Do it in reality, not in the format, constraint and vacuum of a game.