365 - Death, taxes and scratched corneas
(S.I./D): Creating “absolute certainties” for survival
Copyright © 2023 by Jeth Randolph
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author.
Creating “absolute certainties” in an environment of no absolutes...
Being on the receiving end of aggression can be a chaotic, confusing and emotional experience.
And while there can be no honest promises or guarantees in this type of situation, self-confidence(*) in dealing with it will not come from having a “fairly good idea” about your ability to prevail against the violent imposition of someone else’s will against you... it comes from knowing as close to 100% as possible that if you do A then B will be the result.
As the saying goes “A good man (or woman) knows their limitations” - and so, superior preparation also comes in knowing and preparing for these factors too.
The greatest strategists in history were those that had as best as humanly possible, an absolute certainty (AC) about their courses of action.
They didn't commit to battle based on rough ideas or hunches.
There are certainly classic tactics that can be learned in an academy but there also needs to be on the ground intelligence information and facts as keys to decision making along with other factors such as experience and training. Moving to act only when certain of outcome and it’s associated cost.
In the smaller, more personal battlefronts of our lives, it is the planning and preparation for what a woman can do while out alone to deal with a creep following her, or the lone man being singled out by a goading group of males.
For those specialising in the survival fighting context, it is looking for their own set of absolute certainties – there are only so many anyway, but they do differ from person to person in terms of their use or suitability.
At a most basic level, take the example of attacking an aggressor’s eyes as part of a chain of strategy, not as a default tactic, rather just one option from many.
You know that attacking the eyes will at least cause some form or level of disruption to the course of the attack, to a greater or lesser extent, even if damage is not achieved.
It will not take great strength or ability to achieve this tactic. You do not need to be an athletic younger person either.
You will then need to understand whether or not this will be seen as justified and proportionate to what you believe is happening to you because if not, that may well be the next threat to your continued quality of life.
One size fits all?
For each tactic that you gravitate towards, it is now a question of learning the various ways that you can do this and then discovering which one works best for you.
You will find this in various developmental ways through training - solo through to sparring and other methods.
The least desirable is to find out for real!
But having found it, it must be made rock solid in understanding, delivery, and reliability and importantly the will to deliver it - an absolute certainty.
But aggressive situations are amorphous, chaotic and unclear …
So, along with AC, there needs to be enough breadth of knowledge that you can adapt to a developing situation and still move towards your goal, which most of the time and for most of us, will be getting the hell out of there in one piece.
This means committing to regular training that will allow for constant reinforcement and refinement of your key skills as well as expanding your knowledge to other possibilities and therefore giving you more options in terms of adaptability and both of these can only be done over time with regular work and patience.
Some situations are simply extremely difficult to solve, which means you must apply your AC list to achieve the best result you can within that scenario.
Regular self reflection
It is not for me to choose your AC list for you, nor should it be. Just as it is not for me to suggest where your personal line in the sand should be in terms of self preservation.
This is a key point in personal responsibility for your life, of the lives of those you love and care about and it can be an uncomfortable one.
It is something truly yours, no matter what the world says.
But the tellers are out there and in a world of tellers, you will find being a listener and critical thinker has it’s value, and here you will also find yourself in a minority.
You must now be constantly auditing what information is being sold to you and if it is useful to you or whether it is part of someone else’s list of absolute certainties that may not apply to you, no matter how much you train them and this can put you directly at odds with art/ sport/ style dogmas.
This isn’t about being part of a group, doing an activity or gaining social status.
This is about preparing for a fight for your life.
Consider this last point carefully.
Notes:
* - This is what a lot of people will come along to workshops looking for in one way or another, but it is AC that is really needed to achieve it.
(S.I./D) - This is a label for ordering certain posts for my own use.