SAS and Elite Forces Guide Extreme Unarmed Combat: Hand-To-Hand Fighting Skills From The World's Elite Military Units - Softcover

Once combat starts, you fight with what you have. Your preparation is done, your skills and fitness are at whatever level you have reached. There is no time to wish you had spent more hours in the gym or learned some extra techniques.

If you lack skill, fitness, strength or any other factor, you will have to make up for it with something else. The mental aspect is of paramount importance – guts and determination can cover many other deficiencies.

Many people subscribe to the idea that ‘violence solves nothing'. In fact, a great many problems can be solved with violence, provided you use enough and in the right way. However, using violent means will often create new problems. For example, it may be a simple matter to eliminate a sentry, but once he is missed the enemy will be alerted – the sentry problem is solved but now there is an active search underway.

This is a different and possibly more serious problem. Thus if possible it is best to deal with threats by non-violent means. However, sometimes there is no alternative but to use force. If you have tried and failed or been given no opportunity to avoid trouble, deescalate the situation or deter the assailant, then you must accept that the attack is going to happen and deal with it head-on. If this creates new problems, you can handle them as they arise.

Remember that your goal is always to bring the situation to an end on your own terms, and act accordingly. That might mean escaping or disabling the opponent. It might mean bundling him out through a door and locking it behind him, or applying a painful restraint and outlining the consequences of continuing his attack. Decide what you need to do and then do it without hesitation or second-guessing yourself.