Concerning Combat Camps

I wanted to say a few words concerning the Survival Combat Camps here in Vermont.  Though there are some other pages on the Small Circles of 5 Animals Jujitsu website dealing with the topic of Combat, it still seems that some more detailed reminders of some of the information is relevant.
 
As opposed to many civilian offered combat classes and camps available around the world, the ones offered here are raw, for lack of a better suited word.  While at other classes and camps much of the information is presented and practiced in a controlled environment (indoors with controlled temperatures, lighting, sometimes padded floors and so on), the Survival Combat Camps here in Vermont are primarily outdoors.  The conditions are all natural, raw and most importantly, REAL.
 
I am not a fan of learning something out of context and thinking it will work for you in a real situation.  It’s much like the idea of learning to swim and always practicing in a pool, and then jumping out of a helicopter in the wild ocean and trying to swim the same distance you can in a pool.  Another example is running in circles on an indoor track and then trying to run the same distance on a woodland mountain trail.
 
If you want to become a great swimmer, you must swim rather than run for training.  If you want to become proficient in hand-to-hand, close-quarters combat then you need to train in just that.  Training in a martial arts class is great and you will develop wonderful martial art skills, but it isn’t raw hand-to-hand combat.  Likewise if you wish to become proficient in hand-to-hand combat then you need to train in REAL conditions, unbuffered by the comforts of controlled environments.
 
Here I firmly believe in training in the elements.  That means as a student in a Survival Combat Camp you need to not only learn the skills, but also how to handle heat, humidity, cold, rain, sleet, snow, blazing sun, mud, rocks, uneven surfaces, water, insects and other natural things dealing the body discomforts and unpredictable circumstances.
 
Beyond that it becomes necessary to learn hand-to-hand combative skills in various microclimate structures (clothing or lack of).  Hand-to-hand combat varies greatly whether you are wearing a snowsuit or a swimsuit, heavy boots or bare feet, winter gloves or no gloves.  How does your body respond and act while wearing heavy clothes in a fight when it’s hot outside or minimal clothing when a cold rainstorm rolls overhead?  Has your body been trained to function on flat asphalt, soft sand, a heavily sloped forested hillside, in a river, in thick mud and on lose gravel?  Have you trained in both a wilderness environment, and urban areas?
 
All the training in the world, isolating your body in a controlled environment on predictable surfaces (hard flat floors or mats for example), won’t prepare your body and mind for the REALITY of the wide range of conditions a fight might come to you in.
 
Of course to train under such natural conditions means you typically have to “go out of your way” and leave the ease and convenience of traveling to a city or resort.
 
It is true here the Survival Combat Camps run in the remote locations of Central and Northern Vermont, mostly out of doors no matter the season, and take place in the rawness of the natural elements.  It may not be the most convenient, comfortable or predictable venue.  It may and will take you out of your comfort zone.  And it may sound difficult and very challenging.  The fact is that the camps are all of that and more.  But there will be no compromise, no washing down of the reality concerning hand-to-hand, close-quarters combat training in these camps.  Yes it is “out of the way”, uncomfortable, difficult and quite out of most people’s comfort zones, but that is exactly where it needs to be to work.
 
In these Survival Combat Camps students face reality because it is the best teacher, the best school house and the most effective learning grounds.  And this is why our camps are small and don’t have lines of people waiting.  Most want buffering and convenience, even if it is far less effective.  The Survival Combat Camps here are for people who want reality; who want to really get into the depth and meat of who they are.  Male or female makes no difference.  It’s not about what sex a person is.  It’s about what’s inside them, what drives them and how willing they are to learn, grow and experience.
 
So would these Survival Combat Camps be for you?  Only you can say.  But camps are not run unless there is a minimum of 4 people or a maximum of 16.
 
What and how many compromises do or are you willing to make when it comes to your experiences in this life?
 
Read more on the Camps here:

• General
• Camp 1
• Camp 2
• Some random photos

 
With enough genuine interest I am willing to design and run a Survival Combat Camp that runs 3 weeks.  Obviously this takes extreme commitment, so is difficult to find enough people willing.  But if you are interested in any of the camps feel free to contact me with questions. (see contact page)