The Attack Interface

The Attack Interface is the Most Critical Moment

When I say Interface I am referring to that moment in time when the attack begins or as some have called it, the  ”big bang”.  The talking and screaming are over, the fight begins or the blindsided assault explodes and theory will be proven by outcome. The study of the Attack Interface is the least developed skill in all martial art training and yet the most significant relative to violent crime survival. Bridging the gap in sparring is studied in great detail but, seldom equates with the way a criminal attacks his victim and sustains a continuous assault. When it is time to connect a type of attack to a type of defense the connection is called by me, the Attack  Interface.  If I have a six prong plug and a five whole socket I have the wrong Interface for compatibility.  So to, with violent criminal assault survival, a tournament oriented plug will not Interface with a violent criminal attack socket.  The Attack Interface concept  is a s simple as the plug and socket analogy.  Additionally, emphasis in many martial art schools is upon sharpening one’s sword or basic tools, weapons of offense and defense.  The emphasis is focused on how hard can I punch or kick.  But, if you never get to use your “sword”, your punch or your kick, a sharp sword or powerful punch and kick has no value.  Interface skills that  I am discussing answer the question, “how do I get to use my sharpened sword, my punch and my kick effectively?” In sport when opponents are matched in all physical attributes, a sort of cooperative interface or joining of the fighters takes place as each man charges in to take a grasp of the other. This occurs almost as an agreed acceptance that we will begin to fight as we come together.  As both contestants and the audience want to get to what they perceive the fight to be, which is what takes place in the struggle to win after the fighters come together. This silent consensual joining just happens without a second concern. How the two contestants come together to fight is somehow accepted and is not noteworthy unless one of  the contestants does not wish to engage the ground game. Some fighters choose a strategy of trying to maintain the stand up game and are hunting for that knock out punch while maintaining distance, range and staying on their feet.   Winning a fight at the initial engagement has not been a focus of prominence of the MMA fight arena.  Disappointment in the audience occurs when a fight ends abruptly, albeit by skill.  I wonder how many fights could be ended immediately, the equivalent of a tennis Ace if training were devoted to that skill. Although consideration must be given to safety.  While it is difficult to knock out an opponent with a signal blow at the initial attack, or for that matter throughout the entire fight.  However, in violent crime assault survival the intended victim is rarely as big, as strong, differing in gender and relative ages as their assailant. Failure to take advantage in the preemptive moment or at the first contact results in catastrophic defeat  in violent criminal assault survival.  The Attack Interface is the most important moment in the violent criminal assault survival sequence, as second opportunities are rarely an option.  In sport the fight itself is emphasized.  In the street, the quick end to a fight is the goal.  For the former the fight itself is the glory, in the later case fighting physically superior assailants leads to death.