Introduction to Close Quarters Battle (CQB)
© Copyright Avi Nardia
CQB can be described as combat taking place within buildings, cars, hallways, stairwells, rooms, enclosures, and other constricted spaces. Although CQB training first started with military and law enforcement personnel, it is now being taught to security unit personnel and civilians. CQB is important to security forces because the techniques associated with CQB serve as the foundation for recapture tactics. As a result, security units and their personnel must have the ability to respond to a “worst case scenario” by recapturing the asset that it is protecting.
CQB can involve – individually or collectively, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and more. As a result, we need to be proficient with every move. For instance, with hand-to-hand combat we cannot assume that the enemy will freeze up when we engage him. We need to think that he will counter our moves so we need to consider this and be ready for it in the fight – whether it is with a firearm or with a knife. That is why in Kapap we include these elements as a part of the hand-to-hand combat program.
This term is used to describe a meeting of two or more combatants (even if one or more is passive) where there is the potential for or actual use of extreme destructive force. This type of confrontation usually occurs at close range in a short amount of time.
The SOP 9 Study
This study was conducted in New York and examined every shot fired in the line of duty by law enforcement officials during the course of one year. Out of a total of 2,047 shots fired that year only 217 actually hit their intended targets and only 10 percent of these shots hit vital organs. During interviews with the officers involved in these shootings the majority of them commented that they never even acquired their front sights when they engaged their target. Additionally, these officers also experienced some or all of the following:The confrontations took place at the range of ten feet or less with duration of less than four seconds. During this time, fewer than five rounds were fired.
* The typical response was from the holster.
* A sudden feeling of shock and surprise overwhelmed the officers.
The end result of this study showed that the police officers were NOT trained properly enough to handle these of life and death situations. Now, can you imagine what it would be like for a civilian who has even less training than these officers? That is why, for civilians, realistic training is needed and should be conducted by experienced firearms instructors.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Psychological Aspects : Under severe stress, the normal mental processes become extremely difficult and the mind resorts to its most basic processes.
The following are examples of psychological effects you may experience during a combat situation or any other high stress situation:
1. Tunnel vision: Under extreme stress your attention will primarily be focused on the greatest threat and, as a result, you will have a temporary loss of peripheral vision.
2. Auditory Exclusion: As with tunnel vision, you will focus on the greatest threat and will have the inability to hear for a period of time. For instance, you will probably not hear anyone shouting at you.
3. Electro Dermal Stimulation: A reaction of the skin that makes the hair stand up on the arms and the back of neck.
4. Time/Space Compression: There will be a slow down in the perceived passage of time and a shift in perceived spatial relationship in times of high stress. This is caused by the inability to judge speed and distance and accurately balance the two. Also, you may experience a slowing down of time. In other words, everybody will seem to move in slow motion.
5. Mental Track: In most high stress situations, to include life and death situations, a person’s ability to keep track of the details of the situation taking place around him becomes nearly impossible. In most police shootings, a police officer being debriefed after an engagement does not usually remember how many rounds that he fired. This can happen even in training. Therefore, as a shooter, you must learn to beware of the number of rounds you fired so the weapon does not run completely dry in the middle of a firefight. This concept of awareness not only applies to a shooting situation, but also applies to hand-to-hand combat and edged weapons.
Physiological Aspects: Regardless of how much training an individual has certain studies, along with the SOP 9 study; show that during a combat situation, one or more physical changes take place in an individual’s body. That is why proper training is necessary to help minimize certain aspects.
The following are examples of physiological effects you may experience during a combat situation or any other high stress situation:
1. Pulse and Breathing: In any excitable situation, pulse and breathing will always be affected. Your heart rate increases and your breathing becomes rapid and shallow.
2. Adrenaline: This is nothing more than a hormone that stimulates involuntary nerve action. The amount of stress you are placed under will depend on the amount of adrenaline released into the system. When adrenaline is released into the body, it stimulates the muscles. This causes them to tighten. Depending on the individual and the situation, this is more than adequate to affect an individual’s shooting position or fighting position.
3. Coordination and Reflexes: Under any type of stress hand and eye coordination degrade severely, especially the coordination of the hand and fingers.
The Chemical Cocktail
The reactions just discussed are the result of the body’s survival response to a potentially lethal situation. When suddenly placed in a life-threatening situation, the body will dump the below listed chemicals into the bloodstream and mix with sodium. This “chemical cocktail” creates an imbalance characterized by general muscle tightening and loss of fine motor skills. This chemical cocktail includes:
1. Epinephrine: An adrenal hormone that stimulates automatic nerve action (fight).
2. Nor – Epinephrine: A hormone that is formed naturally in the body’s nerve endings during times of fear (flight).
3. Cortazol: A crystalline hormone released to the body’s nerve endings during times of fear (fight).
The body’s reaction : The body’s response to this imbalance by releasing potassium to counteract the effects of the sodium. However, this process takes time and slows our ability to react. As a result, we must always seek to minimize the impact that this chemical cocktail has on us in order to improve our reaction times. We can do this by training to maintain the proper “mindset”.
Mindset is a term used to describe an individual’s state of mental readiness to act or react to a stimulus in our environment that ensures survival. This proper combat mindset is neither learned nor can it be taught, it must be developed from within. The tools you need for proper combat mindset can only be exposed in a schoolhouse environment to help you to develop yourself.
The Breakdown of the Mind:
Conscious Mind: The conscious mind is the thinking part of the mind. It takes seconds to make decisions when using this part of the brain. In any type of combat situation the conscious mind’s decision making process is too slow to keep you alive. The conscious mind is a hindrance causing you to have to react to every situation instead of acting.
Sub-Conscious Mind: Reacts to situations. This part of the mind works in quarter seconds, which is much faster than the conscious mind. It has to be trained in order for it to work properly.
When training, the skills being learned need not only to be simple, but sound and effective. The sub-conscious mind is only developed through proper repetition (muscle memory) in training.
You must strive for perfection each and every repetition.
If you train poorly, or if the training is too complicated or too detailed, when the sub-conscious mind takes over it will not be able to respond properly to the situation. What occurs is the conscious mind identifies the situation, realizes it cannot handle it, and then turns it over to the sub-conscious mind to react. That is why we say that in any type of combat situation a person must rely on his training in order to survive.
The Optimum Combat Mindset:
Optimum combat mindset is the state of mind where you have prepared yourself mentally (both consciously and sub consciously), physically, emotionally, tactically, and technically to endure the rigors of combat for prolonged periods of time and under extremely adverse conditions, and still remain effective.
Developing a Combat Mindset:
Like the body the mind needs to be conditioned to respond or function properly in combat. When faced with a combat situation you want your mind to be free of distractions so that all of your focus is on the mission at hand – such as getting out of a situation and if it’s at the killing zone, killing the enemy and surviving the encounter). You need to be mentally prepared for death and injury and you need to go into the fight prepared for the worst. For instance, if you find yourself in a knife fight you should expect to get cut or if you go into a shooting you should expect to get shot.
Remember, response time is a critical factor in surviving a violent confrontation in a CQB environment. Do not waste time analyzing and second-guessing in an attempt to make the best possible decision. The time that is saved in the thought process will in turn save your life as you fight to end the fight.
One of the most Important things to remember is do not forget the One plus rule – if you get into a fight hand to hand think he could have a knife ,if he has a knife he could have another one or a gun All the time keep alert and one step ahead!
Gross motor skills Fine Motor Skills and complex motor skills are part of the combat and the stress effect it in different ways we need to ready as set training to face reality and stress effecting
Make KAPAP Combatives rules and “S-words of Wisdom” as a way of life
The first rule is that there are no rules….
KAPAP Combatives “S-words Of Wisdom”
Kapap – Martial arts that teach Traditional – Cultural – Contemporary Research and Explore study Personal – teaching evaluation of techniques with no conflicts
Most People like talk, we like to do!
Fearlessness and Determination are the key to the fighting Spirit, the key to winnning the fight!
“Israeli martial arts and CQB, a concept before it was a martial art”
“Always a student, sometimes a teacher”
“Better a student of reality than a master of illusion”
“Any weapon – one mind“
” be the weapon ” your self make yourself the first weapon- than any weapon you carry be more effective – do not depend on weapon only
“Edged weapons do not run out of ammunition and they not jam much as can also changing angels of attack ” thats what make them more risk to disarm than gun
“If you fight an edged weapon assume that you may get cut if you fight a gun assume you get shoot – now see all from damage control concept and assume that make sure its not vital areas as set them on priority in your defense
“There are two kinds of fights: for your ego or for your life. Kapap is for the fight for your life”
KAPAP agenda – we look for quality not quantity!YOU buy your certificate with hard of and write it with special ink made from blood tears and sweat
Because of the experience – no one can fight with experience. Find a good teacher!
Kapap-Krav Panim El Panim – The next step in Israeli martial arts – all you need is INTEGRITY – We get you the skills and knowledge need – ANA Moto (Avi Nardia Academy)