Lee Morrison – Urban Combatives – Last resort

Grappling in any “live” circumstance is only used as a last option.
If avoidance and escape are not options, the priority is pre-emptive response by ballistic impact.
If you’ve wound up on the ground, you’ve made a mistake and will need to swiftly make the most of a terrible circumstance.
The aim is to injure your combatant and get back on your feet as soon as possible.
Topics covered include:
A primer on counter-grappling
ECQ’s secondary tools
Striking restrictions
Gouging and biting
Manipulation of ballistics
Environment Utilization
Vertical counter grappling
Managing frequent grabs and holds
Combative tackles
horizontal counter grappling
Getting past the guard (street style)
Using the pins to attack
ECQ weapon access and deployment
And there’s more…
Product Evaluations
So you’ve heard me talk about the “clinching range”… the point at which two human bodies contact and automatically strive for purchase and equilibrium.
In most cases, this is a very uncivilized affair that relies on opportunistic grasping of whatever is available (clothing, hair, throat, arms, legs, girlfriends, etc.) founded more in aggressiveness and raw power than skill or the manifestation of any kind of true game plan.
Not every fight will end in this range; in fact, if you’ve followed your S.O.P.s and attempted to 1.escape, 2.verbally deescalate, or 3.line up and preemptively strike to a clean clinical knockout…you’ve had a very excellent day!
However, as they say, not every day is a good day. “Sometimes you catch the bear, and sometimes the bear catches you.” “Even monkeys fall off of trees,” says Dan Innosanto. (Geoff Thompson) and my personal favorite, often cited in the British Army: “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” And now I’ve acquired a new one from Instructor Lee Morrison of www. urbancombatives. com: “It is preferable to have a tool and not use it than to require it and not have it.” I just had the opportunity of seeing Lee’s “The Last Resort” DVD series on Street Focused Grappling.
To be honest, after just three years on planet Self Protection, it takes a lot to please me.
I’ve dug through hours of combatively themed junk that claims to be “for the realest of real streets that are really really real” but is actually just garbage.
I believe we are approaching a golden period in martial arts, with sacred cows being pushed aside, taboos being broken, and fat, lazy instructors being disregarded, while we, the genuine students, force instructors and martial arts organizations to new heights of study and growth.
This DVD series “The Last Resort” is a great example of a new approach to combatives and street fighting methods, in my opinion.
It is jam-packed with valuable strategies, concepts, principles, and drills that will provide the learner with all he needs to not only manage with this range… but to be a true f@@@ing handful at it!!!
When learning any subject, I constantly strive to change my perspective.
I’m aware that the questions I ask influence my mental attention.
So, after viewing this series, I questioned myself, “Would I be terrified by the possibility of battling someone who has only obsessively practiced JUST THESE TECHNIQUES for a few months?” and the answer is: you’re absolutely correct! What is presented in these DVDs is what I have always referred to as “my hidden weapon.”
That is, what do I personally do if my major game plan fails? What is my “final resort”? What is my own backup plan? I would do exactly what is depicted in this DVD set! I would slam my assailant into the ground with full force, tearing, clawing, bighting, and mauling – assaulting their sight, balance, breathing, then breaking forcefully back to a striking range to knock them out or down for a stomping…
However, you must do it in such a way that you are not lost in the crimson mist of a “berserker” mindset; rather, this is the PRACTISED skilled application of violent, visceral aggression.
If “MMA” or sporting style clinches are acceptable at the time, you will utilize them.
(The day we overcome this absurd MMA vs. STREET mental map constraint will be a great day indeed – I should design a martial art form called “human beings fighting” simply for fun).
The key here is the effective use of VIOLENCE: “Explode like an atom, in all directions,” Lee says on the DVD, “and make them feel as though they’re holding a rabid dog.” Excellent suggestion, in my opinion.
If you buy the DVD series, which I strongly advise you to do, especially if you are an instructor or teaching a class yourself, plan to sit with a pen and paper taking notes while your finger hovers over the pause button.
I have numerous DT teachers from various agencies in the United States and Canada that purchase my work for inspiration: guys, this is absolutely one for your library.
Lee has assimilated and disseminated ideas from all around the world; he is a concept assimilation and dissemination machine! It’s all presented clearly and flows in an educational direction, with excerpts from seminars and one-on-one sessions serving as a kind of pastiche of extreme close quarter nastiness.
Believe me, I am easily bored, and as a DVD creator (and thus a competitor), I am quite critical.
I have no association scheme with Mr. Morrison (or anybody else), and I am not politically linked in any way.
As a fellow student, I’m speaking to you.
My business strategy has always been that if I take care of my consumers, they would take care of me.
So here’s a free tip: if you want an amazing backup plan in case you DO get stunned, ambushed, and caught off guard, or if your well-practiced preemptive attack comes out a little sloppy after your seventh pint: