Drawing our enemy out to fight on our terms

Those who watch Hollywood movies think that fist fights last a long time, involve almost numberless hits, and take place standing up.  Those who have seen, or engaged in, real fights, know that, after a few punches, most fights quickly end up on the ground.  At that moment, it’s the ground fighter who has the advantage.  The problem for Hollywood is that watching two ground fighters is remarkably similar to, and just as thrilling as, watching dung beetles rolling around.  And so, decades of misinformation are born….

Gracie Brazilian Jui Jitsu, which the Gracie family of Brazil started several generations ago, is a form of ground fighting that begins with techniques to get the opponent down on the ground.  I’ve been amusing myself lately by watching videos in which the Gracies demonstrate how they defeat skilled martial artists from other disciplines by instantly bringing the fight to the ground, where the other martial artists have no tactics or defenses.  Here’s an example:

Watching this type of stuff naturally gets me thinking about the asymmetrical warfare in which our own troops are currently engaged. (And I’m positive that Obama’s election-strategy withdrawals, rather than decreasing the risks to our troops will, over the long haul, increase the risks.) Petraeus’ COIN strategy worked because he examined, not only our own strengths, but the enemy’s weaknesses. It’s been almost ten years since then, and it does seem as if the powers that be in the American military are locked into a big gun strategy that doesn’t necessarily work against an agile fighting force that is unbound by big weapons warfare or traditional rules of engagement. Too often, our troops our stand-up fighters who are engaged in a ground fight.

Do you see a way to change that dynamic?