ASR/RAK Defense Part 2: Distance vs Control

In part 1 we introduced the basic idea of understanding the danger and trying to keep it away. Basic, primal, foundational. Now we begin to build on that single idea with more concepts that begin to create a deeper understanding of how to better approach that primal defense.

The next piece is to understand the difference between distance and control. Generally speaking, the further I am away from someone or something, the less control I have over it. In the context of a fight over a weapon, we relate this simply to defending with hands or defending with body/arms.

The idea is simple, for me to gain more control over the weapon arm, generally I need to bring the arm and/or weapon closer to me. This allows me to use more muscle, but can be counter intuitive in regards to the fact that you’re bringing “danger” closer to your body and generally we want to keep it away.

The idea here is NOT to tell someone that one is better than the other, or try to train someone to go to a specific position, but instead to simply understand the pros and cons of each, and begin to learn to adapt.

Remember, these drills are built for people to be able to actively work against pretty high resistance immediately and in a safe manner.

Enjoy… see you back for part 3!