Aggression Training by David "Callin" Dolph



Photo by angie_phoenix

Combat Aggression is a skill much the same as knowing how to hit an unarmored location or blocking with a shield. Similar to those skills, it can be taught and trained. It is of great use on the open battlefield and in a tourney, giving a combatant an edge in any fight.

What do I mean by Combat Aggression? I do not mean a wild, pell-mell attack. I do not mean charging your opponent and running them down. I mean a controlled system of attacks wherein you initiate the attacks as opposed to waiting to react to your opponent.

All too often I have seen fighters be hesitant; they hang back, withholding their attacks until they are sure of a successful strike. I have seen fighters swing only once and reset their stance or go immediately into a defensive position anticipating a counter-attack. I have seen fighters trap themselves into a completely defensive stance wherein they do nothing but block attacks upon themselves until eventually they miss one and lose the fight.

Why are some fighters lacking Combat Aggression? Part of it might be how they were trained. Part of it might be they are not naturally aggressive; it is not a part of their personality. Part of it might be a desire to not physically hurt their opponent. There can be many reasons why such is the case, but all these can be overcome.

Combat Aggression can be taught and trained. How? Glad you ask. This will take a trusting partner and some smaller weapons; I recommend a florentine set of 3’8” or a sword and shield combo. It is possible to try this technique with other weapon types but it works best with the above weapon styles.

In a nutshell; beat the crap out of each other. You and your partner should attack each other as much as possible without taking any of the shots that land on you. Also key to this technique is that you still continue to call out loud the shots that do hit you, but you do not take them. Continue to swing. Your goal here is to throw as many shots as you can, as safely as you can. You want to hit your partner as often as possible in as many locations as possible. Keep doing this until you are physically too tired to continue.

You do not want to hit your partner in an off target location; so no face or nut shots. You also do not want to hit your partner too hard. The idea here is to attack your partner as much as possible without stopping, but to do it in a controlled and safe manner.

What will doing this training technique get you?

-You will find your aggression level goes up. Attacking will become more natural for you.

-You will learn to place multiple shots on your opponent in a series of attacks, instead of only throwing one shot and then resetting your stance.

-You will learn to better call your shots while you attack. Some fighters are good at calling their shots when on the defensive but they can miss shots when their attention is focused on attacking. This exercise will help balance your focus between calling your shots and attacking.
-You will get used to getting hit by a weapon. Some fighters get timid about getting hit when the fight turns fast. This will help overcome that.

Is there a drawback to this type of training exercise? Yes. While this technique will help up your aggression it will diminish your instinct for self-preservation. In most fights, especially against the better fighters, ignoring a defense completely and going all out will get you killed. While this is an excellent training technique, it needs to be tempered with a good balance of attack and defense.

Also, please bear in mind that safety is still the primary concern in any fight. These training methods are fine with two people who trust each other and are willing to take the occasional bad shot. However, if you find yourself stepping over the line of safety you will need to rein in your aggressiveness and do some more practicing before going all out at a regular event. The key here is control and if you do not yet have that control then you are not safe.