Understanding the Realities of Breakaway Training

All physical training should take into consideration the natural capabilities of the body, the ways in which it moves most efficiently and should utilise training methods and learning formula which build on fundamental attributes which are shared by every person.

However, most Physical Restraint and Breakaway systems take a 'traditional approach' which teaches the students a catalogue of holds and positions which should be matched to certain circumstances.   Reality, however, often unfolds in an unpredictable and rapidly-evolving manner and this is often where the disconnect arises between the complex-motor-skills comfort-zone of the classroom and the 'mobile geometry' of real confrontations.

Staff often fail to reproduce their classroom-learned skills in operational contexts.

This is highlighted in the results of a study conducted by Dickens and Rogers in 2009, entitled: "An audit on the use of Breakaway Techniques in a large psychiatric hospital: a replication study"

"Perhaps...in the heightened state of arousal caused by a real assault people would use any techniques that would work at the time.  Our finding that 80% of participants managed to break away successfully without using the taught techniques does give credence to this, suggesting that breakaway methods that centre on natural instinct as opposed to highly technical manoevres are likely to be recalled more successfully"

Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2009, 16

At the moment at which a discussion turns to an assault, when a simple question triggers verbal abuse or the seemingly compliant subject escalates into a violent attacker, the person being surprised will undergo a sudden and quite drastic change in their physiology.

One of the key issues in terms of dealing with violence and aggression is what lt. Col Dave Grossman describes in his writings on the subject as the “universal human phobia” of intense interpersonal conflict.   When faced with intense conflict, and the threat of violence in our midst, the vast majority of human beings will experience phobic-level responses in their physiology and their psychology.    Books have been written on the emerging study of ‘combat physiology and psychology’ which are starting to pick apart what happens inside people who experience this type of critical incident.

Under the immediate high-stress of an assault, the ways in which the body’s movements are controlled and regulated by brain-function and neurology undergo instantaneous and drastic changes - removing us far from the comfort-zone of our everyday state. 

Unfortunately, much teaching in Breakaway relies on:

1. -an “in control” mindset in uncontrolled or uncontrollable moments
   

2. -complex motions which require multiple bio-mechanical shifts to be effective
   

3. -cognition, in moments where the ‘reactive brain’ has executive function
   

4. -perfect performance of static skills, in unknown and unknowable contexts
   

Here are the comments of Andrew Mott, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression:

“Alarmingly this could be placing staff at more risk by teaching skills that are not compatible with ‘genetically wired’ or ‘natural’ responses or the realities of the dynamic operational working environment, which in some cases may give staff a false sense of security.

...violence does not occur in a vacuum, and should prompt a need to invest more time in....a three-dimensional approach to training that integrates a more holistic approach, based on the interrelationship of the physiological, psychological and emotional dimensions of a violent encounter, within the context of a changing dynamic environment.

...it is vital that researchers and trainers consider the pioneering developments that have already taken pace in the allied professions during the past decade.”

Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice,

Vol 4 Issue 3 September 2009

A lot of learned ‘breakaway’ and martial arts techniques result in failure when put to test in the real world - they are often designed in a sterile laboratory where surprise, natural motion and decision-making do not impact their effectiveness.  Of course, in the real world, there is no sterile environment!

A note about Lone Workers:

In the most critical incidents, a highly-aroused or motivated attacker will move with such quickness, at such a heightened level of aggression and at such close proximity so as to render the worker’s challenge in accessing a device or a learned “move” very great indeed.   Lone Workers, especially the ones for whom the risks of physical violence are greater, typically work in close-quarters with their service users...consider the size of an average living room, bedroom or hallway for a moment.

How quickly can an attacker cover the distance between them and the worker they are with, and deliver a blow? In studies, it has been consistently found that a motivated attacker can cover a distance of 7 yards in 1.5 seconds. How much time might a worker need in order to recognise that they are under attack, decide to activate their device or their breakaway technique?

Physical training must acknowledge these issues - understanding natural human behaviour, incorporating an understanding of confrontation stress on physical performance and utilitising movements which work with the natural tendencies of the body.  

It is our belief that the best tactics are those developed from an analysis of basic human physiology - they are then retained more readily and are closer to hand when the trainee needs them the most.  Our commitment to this belief ensures that our physical training has the greatest degree of relevancy when it is most needed.