Four Noble Truths & Combative Calculus

The first noble truth of Buddhism is that life means suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is attachment.

This holds true in a combative context.

When in a combat / fight situation, attachment to particular techniques or sequences of techniques can get you killed. You should be primarily concerned with the result you want to have happen. The means by which you arrive at that result will change based on the variables present.

For example, if you have it set in your mind to disarm an attacker’s knife, but due to different variables (strength, size, speed, etc.) the technique you try fails – then your mind will begin to shut down because it doesn’t know what to do next.

If you were focused on a result – say, for example, having them unconscious due to head trauma – and allowed yourself to free flow and use any available tools to do so, you would fare far better.

Or more generally, if your end result is to escape with your life and limbs in tact, you must allow yourself to improvise based on the situation at hand. Attachment to techniques or specific sequences of moves is going to get you hurt.

For the math whizzes out there, think of it like this:

x + y = z

Where ‘x’ is the attack, ‘y’ is your response, and ‘z’ is the end result.

If that is true, and it is really ‘z’ (your end result) that you are after, then if you now have 5x in the picture, you must change ‘y’ if you are still to get the same value for ‘z’.

In plain English: when the variables present change, your response must change accordingly if you are to achieve the same result.

– T.J. Kennedy

Hybrid Fighting Method