Combat Mindset

In combat, individuals first Observe and Orient themselves so they can understand
the situation,
then they make a Decision to direct their activities, and then they take Action
(OODA cycle
John Boyd). The combat mindset (courage, will, and confidence to win) and the
efficient
irregular use of this nonlinear OODA cycle are essential to success/victory. You
must develop
the ability to initiate and control engagement opportunities by operating at a
faster tempo inside
your opponents time scale to generate confusion and disorder (time-based fast
transient tactic)
in order to defeat him.
: , , ,
Oral Tradition: If you use conscious procedural thinking (sequential processing) to
observe, analyze, and then decide and act, you will lose most of your hand-to-hand
encounters or confrontations.
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In a hand-to-hand conflict/confrontation, whether you are aware of it or not, you
will move
through this nonlinear OODA cycle irregularly, subconsciously. Once the fight is
underway, due
to the compressed time scale, you must relegate this OODA cycling to the parallel
process of
your powerful un-conscious mind (Wu Yi Si, ). If you use your conscious mind
to
observe and analyze your opponents action and then decide and act using linear
sequential
processing, most likely you will lose the fight. In this compressed time scale,
your un-conscious
mind recalls, makes decision, and takes action from prior meaningful decision-
making reference
points (Wu Yi Er Yong, ). When there is no prior reference point, you will
become
disoriented. Therefore, you must create valid decision-making reference points
ahead of time
with realistic training and conditioning with sparring (Shi Zhan, ) and crisis
rehearsal (Jia
Xiang Di, ), and draw from your experience. You fight like you trained.
Let us briefly explore the different phases of your un-conscious nonlinear OODA
cycle:
Observe: The time it takes to gather and process information is as important as the
manner. In
hand-to-hand altercations, your main sensory system is your vision. Prior to
engagement, watch
your opponent; study his characteristics, stance, and fighting measure. Never look
away from
him during the fight. In the far interval, watch his eyes. In the close interval,
watch his waist,
chest, elbows, or feet. Always, maintain a state of relaxed awareness; observe and
analyze your
opponent subconsciously. Don't let fear freeze you in place. Constantly change the
interval,
timing, and angle from your opponent. Observe with both your eyes and your hands;
observe
your opponents attributes, abilities, and styles. Use false attacks to force your
opponent to
reveal the quality and speed of his actions. Learn his timing. Feel his strengths
and weaknesses
(perception and situational awareness), both mentally and physically.
Orient: Orient yourself to understand the situation. Take the initiative to
disorient your
opponent. Do the unexpected; mix feints, beat, and attacks to draw a reaction. Look
for cues,
change lines and positions; do not give your opponent a free moment to seize the
initiative. You
cannot be passive; instead you must initiate and control engagement opportunities,
to switch
from one maneuver/technique to another more rapidly than your opponent (compressing
his time
scale), interrupt and get inside his OODA cycle to disorient him. Remain calm;
adopt the small
step on-guard fighting posture but be comfortable, natural, and relaxed - as
opposed to
rigid/tensed - but not slackened or physically lax. Mentally and physically you
want to dominate
your opponent; have the courage, will, and confidence to win. Continuously change
your
orientation with subconscious updates and inputs from observations to overwhelm
your
opponents ability to adapt to change. Every time he attempts to reorient, attack
something else
to distort his orientation. Combat is based on deception.
Decide: Through crisis rehearsal, visualize fighting and sparring with imaginary
opponents (Jia
Xiang Di, ), you have established meaningful un-conscious decision-making
reference
points; eliminated all unnecessary actions and negative mental distractions. You
have been
there; done that; and can handle the situation, visualized your success. Analyze
your opponent
but relegate your spontaneous response to your powerful un-conscious decision-
making
references; use the proper action at the proper time with no conscious intent (Yi
Wu Yi, ).
Discover his weaknesses; make him fight the type of bout he fights worst. Keep him
guessing
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what you are going to do next. Dont give him rest, hit from all angles. Achieve a
more
effective OODA cycle than your opponent; destroy his confidence.
Act: When engaged, your powerful un-conscious mind and harmonized whole-body would
take
over, fired up and execute the appropriate technique perfectly, acting decisively,
spontaneously
with no conscious thinking. Concentrate, be in the present totally, be in the zone
(De Li, );
dont worry about the outcome. What you can do prior to or in the future are
irrelevant at this
point. The execution of the attack must be done with proper timing, quickly,
without hesitation,
and with maximum force. Keep moving; make your opponent miss narrowly. Circle and
side
step rushes. Follow up on your advantages. When he is off balance, be all over him;
walk
violently into him with your whole-body balanced force behind your blows; stay on
your toes
and keep him on his heels. Dont waste motion. Dont telegraph punches; attack with
confidence, accuracy, speed, and whole-body balanced force. Deal with changes with
your
subconscious mind; whoever can handle the quickest rate of change has the
advantage. Stay
inside your opponents OODA cycle, change your efforts and maneuvers as your
opponent
change to adapt, make him play catch-up; respond to changing circumstances with
total freedom
in an infinite variety of ways.