cOODA, shOODA, wOODA

Understanding the OODA loop and what it means for you and your training

Krav Maga training as most of you probably know is unparalleled in it's ability to provide practical, effective, fast and brutal, easy-to-learn self defense tactics against modern threats. Not to say that it couldn't happen, but fighting someone with a long sword is highly unlikely nowadays than fighting someone with a pocket knife who wants your money/possessions or worse, your life. The world is a scary place - there are a lot of bad people out there and if you think about it, what is stopping them from attacking you? Generally speaking, even the dumbest of criminals will attack those whom they perceive to be an easy target. The concept of opportunity cost is built into our DNA as humans.

For example - I like to go out on the town quite a bit and I have seen my share of fights and avoided others that I might have been a part of. On average, I am a pretty small guy - not tall and not stacked with an incredible amount of muscle. My friends are typically a little bigger than I am but one of my best friends in particular is nearly 7ft tall and has a presence about him. However, my friend has no fighting experience and not very good control of his movements when it comes to a self-defense/fighting aspect, but if confronting the two of us, who do you think is the first person to get antagonized? It's me! Only because most people out there looking for a fight perceive me to be an easy target! It would be their mistake! You should keep this mindset too!

When I am by myself, however, I hardly ever get bothered. Why is this? This is because, next to an individual much larger than myself, would be attackers don't see me, they see the size difference between myself and my friend. Ever heard of the term "sizing up and opponent" ? Generally speaking, when I am confronted by an individual with an aggressive attitude it's 98% of the time when I am with a friend or two and the other individual has a posse of his own. When walking by myself, I am aware of my surroundings, I walk deliberately, with purpose, and with my shoulders back - the way I carry myself tells predators that I will not be an easy target. I am trying to tell predators that if "you attack me, you're gonna regret it" by the way I carry myself - You should ask yourself "How do I carry myself? Do I make myself look like a victim?"
(BTW If you haven't read Rory Miller's book Meditations on Violence, I highly recommend it - it is very insightful on the psychology of violence)
Krav Maga training then is not only physical but also mental as well.

Let's take a look at a concept that you may or may not be familiar with: The OODA Loop also known as Boyd's Loop.


Developed by USAF Col. John Boyd as a decision making model used in combat situations (but could also be applied to many other aspects of life), the OODA Loop is an acronym:

Observe - Observation can be made with all available senses (sight, smell, and sound are the most common)
Orient - Understanding the meaning of what you have just observed and what it means for you
Decide - Weighing your available options and choosing one
Act - Executing your decision - "fight or flight"

This all happens in fractions of a second. Observing and Acting are both PHYSICAL phases of the loop, while the Orientation and Decision phases of the loop are MENTAL.

You must understand that as a student, many times (though certainly not all times) the mental processes of the OODA loop are taken out of the training. For example, if you are being taught inside defenses against straight punches and the instructor tells the respective partner to only throw the right cross, in a very short period of time you will be (subconsciously) jumping from the Observation stage to the Acting stage - you know whats coming (the punch) and you know what to do (inside defense). Not once do you have to orient yourself with whats happening and weigh options because in this instance of class, you only have one. And this handicap can be seen in much of training. If you are working on one choke, the same processes are skipped (orientation and decision). Of course, we as instructors break things down into steps and take certain things slow for teaching purposes but when we ask you to go all out for 1, 2, or 3 minutes, non-stop, full aggression and when we ask you to close your eyes or spin around and get dizzy or close your eyes in the dark while someone other than the person you have been comfortable working with all of class attacks you it is force you back into the mental phases of the OODA loop.

When we create stress drills we are trying our best to make you as off-guard as possible and force you Observe, ORIENT yourself, DECIDE what you are going to do, and then ACT with 100% aggression and power. We are trying to condition your mind to get through the OODA loop faster and fight through unexpected circumstances that may cause you to 'freeze' somewhere in the OODA cycle.

It is important as students to understand where flaws exist and to avoid giving ourselves a false sense of security (which can lead to your demise). Understand what is missing from your training and so long as you are aware of it, you can make your stress/aggression training much more effective.

How can you use the OODA loop to your advantage?
As I said before, people will challenge others when they think they can beat and predators attack those they perceive to be weaker. The OODA loop occurs in both you and an attacker at the exact same time and action always beats reaction so its in your best interest to be as aware of your surroundings as possible. With that said, if your predator is assuming that they can victimize you and you start to defend and punch and kick and attack them, they must re-orient themselves and decide what to do, but if you keep attacking them you could very easily freeze them in the mental phases of the OODA loop and prevent them from acting on you! (read Meditations on Violence for a more in depth analysis of this process). But to put it into perspective - Have you ever done gun from the front? Redirect, Control, Attack, Takeway - when you redirect and control, then attack, then take away you are forcing the attacker to think "oh no my gun! - oh no my face! - oh no my gun!" You freeze your opponent in the mental phases before they have a chance to act. If you are ever practicing self-defense in any level of classes you need to train yourself to vary your combatives targets - groin, face, groin, body, face, body, groin - when your opponent thinks he has a chance to react, give him something else to think about!

Think about this sequence when you train and think consciously about what parts of the OODA loop you are using or skipping. Like I said, instructors break things down for a reason but be aware of your mindset when training. Be aware of the mental aspects of a fight or a life/death situation, after all, you are training here for such an encounter so train your mind while you're at it as it is your mind that will get your body to do things your body didn't think it could!

Walk with purpose - Walk with confidence - Always believe that you will prevail

The fighter's spirit is everything - When the body says "stop!" the spirit cries, "NEVER!"



If you have any questions, always feel free to contact me at: Matt@fitandfearless