Recovery before Retaliation

Hi Dave,

I recently picked up the concept of "recovery before retaliation" from you. As you know I'm interested in how it links to the idea of "shut down put down". I believe both to be integral to successful mental and physical self protection.

How would you explain and introduce a student to these concepts?

cheers
Chris

a very good and thought provoking question Chris mate.

YES ... RECOVERY has to happen in an opponent before he can retaliate.

He cannot formulate a 'counter-attack' or further attack if he is recovering.
Boxers often just 'hang on' if they have had a hard punch that makes them dizzy, waiting until that recovery before they can fight on.

on the street the following (slightly altered) quote from the late very great Kenshiro Abbe 10th Dan sums it up very well

"Attack the moment he attacks .. continue your attack until you have dominance over him ... maintain the dominance until you are safe"

you first have to ACCEPT THE ATTACK.. that is accept the FACT of an attack, not simply stand there and be headbutted.. no it means that the shock value of a sudden launch assault from your street opponent can massivley upset you and throw away and rational chances of a counter.
its why they do it that why.. a screaming shouting attack can un-nerve anyone.

you HAVE to accept that you are under assault .. then you can start to deal with it.. so getting in and getting hold of your opponent is a great way of doing this.. not necessary if he is 3 yards away in a 'boxers' stance, you know he is coming and and the shock value isnt there. But a sudden launch is different.. close in and stop further attacks .. then work on projecting pain and fear back into HIM..

SHUT DOWN ..prevents (hopefully) any further damage and pain on your body.

PUT DOWN.. means you stay dominant.. it doesnt necessarily mean a throw or trip.. you can put him down with a nice head-butt for example... it means ensure he is DOWN

you simply HAVE to "change his mind"
that is.. first he want to rip YOUR head off.. feels confident and attacks you..
next you SHUT HIM DOWN, which means he now ISNT the top dog, and is starting to get concerned... not too worried just yet
Then you apply the principle of PUT DOWN ... a sustained assault on HIM designed to ensure he ends up on the floor, one way or the other.
you back it up with strong verbals.. really apply a kind of 'madness but a controlled madness, a deliberate madness...

to quote my old instructor John Warfield .
"Hurt his body .. Mess up his mind"

now he really is worried, he moves rapidly from 'concerned' to 'worried' to FEAR.

He now no longer wants to attack you and rip your head of.. he now wants to "go home to his mummy"

you have now changed his mind, and defeated him both physically and mentally..

hope that helps a bit mate