At the time of writing this I am quickly approaching my 18^th year in the Marine Corps. Separating myself from the military person in me is nearly impossible at this point, as I have lived the same amount of time in and out of uniform. Fortunately for me, part of my development as an enlisted member is based around my understanding of the doctrine that the service operates on. 

Reading the original Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1, Warfighting, was exactly what was influencing my view and understanding of grappling all along and I didn’t realize it. The missing pieces of ‘what’ and ‘why’ I favored one thing over another, or didn’t agree with doing X was found in the text within. I saw grappling as war, which I still believe it is. I truly believe in my heart of hearts that the doctrine of warfighting and maneuver warfare is expressed in grappling. 

What you are about to read is my best attempt at creating the baseline of how students of mine will begin to derive their martial understanding. This is the first doctrinal foundation of all tactics, strategy, and development in my interpretation of Jiu-Jitsu.

Finally, the following words were not written by me, and I take zero credit for the genius of the author. All I have done is transpose the words that are specific to war into the context of martial arts. At best, I attempt to offer some of my interpretations to help the reader better understand and appreciate the original words applicability to their craft. 

NOTE: Fighting is maneuver warfare!

MCPD-1: Chapter 1

The Nature of Fighting

“Everything in fighting is simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced a fight.”1

         Carl von Clausewitz / Blake Artel

“In fighting the chief incalculable is the human will.”2

         B. H. Liddell Hart / Blake Artel

“Positions are seldom lost because they have been destroyed, but almost invariably because the practitioner has decided in his own mind that the position cannot be held.”3

         A. A. Vandegrift / Blake Artel

To understand my philosophy of grappling, we first need an appreciation for the nature of fighting itself; its moral, mental, and physical characteristics and demands. A common view of fighting among my students is a necessary base for the development of a cohesive doctrine because our approach to the conduct of grappling derives from our understanding of the nature of fighting.

FIGHTING DEFINED

Fighting is a violent clash of interests between or among individuals or groups characterized by the use of physical force. Typically, it occurs amongst martial art practitioners, but it may also include any non-practitioner, such as street punks or gangs with their own interests and the ability to generate violence on a scale sufficient to have significant personal consequences. 

The essence of fighting and its components are violent struggles between two hostile, independent, and irreconcilable wills, each trying to impose itself on the other. Fighting is fundamentally an interactive social process. It is a process of continuous mutual adaptation, of give and take, move and counter move. It is critical to keep in mind that the opponent is not an inanimate object to be acted upon but an independent and animate force with its own objectives and plans. While we try to impose our will on the opponent, they resist us and see to impose their own will on us. Appreciating this dynamic interplay between opposing human wills is essential to understanding the fundamental nature of fighting, to include the grappling component of it.

The object in a fight is to impose our will on our enemy. The means to this end is the organized application or threat of violence by physical force. The target of that violence may be limited to one opponent, or it may extend to group of opponents at large. A fight may range from intense clashes between large groups of individuals –sometimes outright declared due to known hostilities between the groups — to subtler, unconventional hostilities that barely reach the threshold of violence between individuals.

Total war and perfect peace rarely exist in practice. Instead, they are extremes between which exist the relations among most relations. This range includes common social/romantic competition, more or less permanent political or ideological tension, and occasional crises among groups. The decision to resort to the use of physical force of some kind may arise at any point within these extremes, even during periods of relative peace. On one end of the spectrum, physical force may be used simply to maintain or restore order in civil disturbances. At the other extreme, force may be used to completely overturn the existing order within a social circle or between two or more larger groups. Some cultures consider it a moral imperative to fight only as a last resort when all peaceful means to settle disagreements have failed. Others have no such hesitancy to resort to physical force to achieve their aims.

FRICTION

Portrayed as a clash between two opposing wills, fighting appears a simple enterprise. In practice, the conduct of fighting becomes extremely difficult because of the countless factors that impinge on it. These factors collectively have been called friction, which Clausewitz described as the force that makes the apparently easy so difficult. Friction is the force that resists all action and saps energy. It makes the simple difficult and the difficult seemingly impossible.

The very essence of fighting as a clash between opposed wills creates friction. In this dynamic environment of interacting forces, friction abounds.

Friction may be mental, as in indecision over a course of action. It may be physical, as in effective opponent gripping, a sickness or injury, or a difficult guard that must be overcome. Friction may be external, imposed by opponent action, the rules of the match, weight disparities, or mere chance. Friction may be self-induced, caused by such factors as lack of a clearly defined strategy, lack of coordination or proper preparation, unperfected or complicated techniques, complex or unrealistic technique chaining, or a lack of respect for your opponent’s ability. Whatever form it takes, because fighting is a human enterprise, friction will always have a psychological as well as a physical impact.

While we should attempt to minimize self-induced friction, the greater requirement is to fight effectively despite the existence of friction. One essential means to overcome friction is the will we prevail over friction through persistent strength of mind and spirit. While striving ourselves to overcome the effects of friction, we must attempt at the same time to raise our opponent’s friction to a level that weakens their ability to fight.

We can readily identify countless examples of friction, but until we have experienced it ourselves, we cannot hope to appreciate it fully. Only through experience can we come to appreciate the force of will necessary to overcome friction and to develop a realistic appreciation for what is possible in fighting and what is not. While training should attempt to approximate the conditions of a fight, we must realize it can never fully duplicate the level of friction of real combat.

UNCERTAINTY

Another attribute of fighting is uncertainty. We might argue that uncertainty is just one of many sources of friction, but because it is such a pervasive trait of fighting, we will treat it singly. All actions in a fight take place in an atmosphere of uncertainty, or the fog of war. Uncertainty pervades a fight in the form of unknowns about the opponent, about the environment, and even about the friendly situation. While we try to reduce these unknowns by gathering information, we must realize that we cannot eliminate them — or even come close. The very nature of fighting makes certainty impossible; all actions in a fight will be based on incomplete, inaccurate, or even contradictory information.

Fighting is intrinsically unpredictable. At best, we can hope to determine possibilities and probabilities. This implies a certain standard of sound judgment: What is possible and what is not? What is probable and what is not? By judging probability, we make an estimate of our opponent’s strategy and act accordingly. Having said this, we realize that it is precisely those actions that seem improbable that often have the greatest impact on the outcome of a fight.

Because we can never eliminate uncertainty, we must learn to fight effectively despite it. We can do this by developing simple, flexible plans planning for likely contingencies developing standing operating procedures from static-drilling techniques and fostering initiative through dynamic ecological drilling. 

One important source of uncertainty is a property known as non-linearity. Here the term does not refer to formations on the battlefield but describes systems in which causes and effects are disproportionate. Minor incidents or actions can have decisive effects. Outcomes of fights can hinge on minor actions, and as Clausewitz observed, issues can be decided by chances and incidents so minute as to figure in histories simply as anecdotes.

By its nature, uncertainty invariably involves the estimation and acceptance of risk. Risk is inherent in a fight and is involved in every action. Risk is equally common to action and inaction. Risk may be related to gain; greater potential gain often requires greater risk. The practice of concentrating attacks toward your main effort of your strategy necessitates the willingness to accept prudent risks elsewhere. However, we should clearly understand that the acceptance of risk does not equate to the imprudent willingness to gamble the entire likelihood of success on a single improbable event, such as a flying triangle.

Part of uncertainty is the ungovernable element of chance. Chance is a universal characteristic of a fight and a continuous source of friction. Chance consists of turns of events that cannot reasonably be foreseen and over which we and our opponent have no control, such as slipping or injury in some cases. The constant potential for chance to influence outcomes in a fight, combined with the inability to prevent chance from impacting on plans and actions, creates psychological friction. However, we should remember that chance favors neither belligerent exclusively. Consequently, we must view chance not only as a threat but also as an opportunity which we must be ever ready to exploit.

FLUIDITY

Like friction and uncertainty, fluidity is an inherent attribute of fighting. Each episode in a fight is the temporary result of a unique combination of circumstances, presenting a unique set of problems and requiring an original solution. Nevertheless, no episode can be viewed in isolation. Rather, each episode merges with those that precede and follow it — shaped by the former and shaping the conditions of the latter — creating a continuous, fluctuating flow of activity replete with fleeting opportunities and unforeseen events. Since fighting is a fluid phenomenon, its conduct requires flexibility of thought. Success depends in large part on the ability to adapt — to proactively shape changing events to our advantage as well as to react quickly to constantly changing conditions.

It is physically impossible to sustain a high tempo of activity indefinitely, although clearly there will be times when it is advantageous to push ourselves to the limit. The tempo of a fight will fluctuate from periods of intense combat to periods in which activity is limited to information gathering, recovery, or reattack. Darkness and weather can influence the tempo of a fight but need not determine it. A competitive rhythm will develop between the opposing wills with each belligerent trying to influence and exploit tempo and the continuous flow of events to suit their respective purposes.

Physical forces will mass to concentrate your combat power against the opponent. However, this massing will also make you vulnerable to the effects of opponent attacks, and you will find it necessary to disperse. Another competitive rhythm will develop; disperse, concentrate, disperse again — as each belligerent tries to concentrate combat power temporarily while limiting the vulnerability to opponent combat power.

DISORDER

In an environment of friction, uncertainty, and fluidity, fighting gravitates naturally toward disorder. Like the other attributes of fighting, disorder is an inherent characteristic of fights we can never eliminate it. In the heat of battle, plans will go awry, instructions and information will be unclear and misinterpreted, connections will fail, and mistakes and unforeseen events will be commonplace. It is precisely this natural disorder which creates the conditions ripe for exploitation by an opportunistic will.

Each fight will usually tend to grow increasingly disordered over time. As the situation changes continuously, we are forced to improvise again and again until finally our actions have little, if any, resemblance to the original techniques. 

By historical standards, modern fighting is particularly disorderly. While classical martial arts fights could be described by linear techniques and linear applications, we cannot think of today’s fighting in linear terms. The dynamics and lethality of modern attacks have increased dispersion between opponents. In spite of physical connections such as grips, this dispersion strains the limits of positive opponent control. The natural result of dispersion is uncontrolled areas, gaps, and exposed flanks which can and will be exploited, blurring the distinction between friendly and opponent-controlled areas of the body.

The occurrences of fighting will not unfold like clockwork. We cannot hope to impose precise, positive control over events. The best we can hope for is to impose a general framework of order on the disorder, to influence the general flow of action rather than to try to control each event.

If we are to win, we must be able to operate in a disorderly environment. In fact, we must not only be able to fight effectively in the face of disorder, we should seek to generate disorder and use it as a weapon against our opponent.

COMPLEXITY

Fighting is a complex phenomenon. In reality, each practitioner is not using a single technique system or only proficient in one area or position. Instead, each practitioner has multiple complex systems consisting of numerous individual parts. Each technique is part of a larger system and must flow with other techniques for the accomplishment of the goal. At the same time, each has its own weaknesses and must be adapted to the situation. Each attempt to apply technique will deal with friction, uncertainty, and disorder, and each attempt may create friction, uncertainty, and disorder for the recipient as well. 

As a result, fighting is not governed by the actions or decisions of a single technique in any one place but emerges from the collective application of all the individual techniques in the system interacting in response to opponent reactions and incomplete information. A finishing technique is not the monolithic execution of a single technique from a single event but necessarily involves near-countless independent but interrelated techniques and actions being taken simultaneously throughout the fight. Efforts to fully centralize your focus to exert complete control with a single technique are inconsistent with the intrinsically complex and distributed nature of a fight.

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THE HUMAN DIMENSION

Because fighting is a clash between opposing human wills, the human dimension is central in a fight. It is the human dimension which infuses the fight with its intangible moral factors. Fighting is shaped by human nature and is subject to the complexities, inconsistencies, and peculiarities which characterize human behavior. Since fighting is an act of violence based on irreconcilable disagreement, it will invariably inflame and be shaped by human emotions.

Fighting is an extreme trial of moral and physical strength and stamina. Any view of the nature of fighting would hardly be accurate or complete without consideration of the effects of danger, fear, exhaustion, and privation on those who fight. However, these effects vary greatly from case to case. Individuals and peoples react differently to the stress of a fight; an act that may break the will of one opponent may only serve to stiffen the resolve of another. Human will, instilled through strong leadership and training, is the driving force of all action in fighting

No degree of technological development or scientific calculation will diminish the human dimension in a fight. Any doctrine which attempts to reduce fighting to size, strength, and equipment neglects the impact of the human will on the conduct of a fight and is therefore inherently flawed.

VIOLENCE AND DANGER

Fighting is a horror known to humanity and it should never be romanticized. The means of fighting is force, applied in the form of organized violence. It is through the use of violence, or the credible threat of violence, that we compel our opponent to do our will. Violence is an essential element of a fight, and its immediate result is pain, bloodshed, and suffering. While the magnitude of violence may vary with the objective and means of fighting, the violent essence of fighting will never change. Any study of fighting that neglects this basic truth is misleading and incomplete.

Since fighting is a violent enterprise, danger is ever present and the human reaction to danger has a significant impact on the conduct of it. Everybody feels fear. Fear contributes to the corrosion of will. Fighters must foster the courage to overcome fear, both individually and within the team. Courage is not the absence of fear rather, it is the strength to overcome fear.

Fighters must study fear, understand it, and be prepared to cope with it. Courage and fear are often situational rather than uniform, meaning that people experience them differently at different times and in different situations. Like fear, courage takes many forms, from a stoic courage born of reasoned calculation to a fierce courage born of heightened emotion. Experience under fire generally increases confidence, as can realistic training by lessening the mystique of combat. Strong leadership which earns the respect and trust of students can limit the effects of fear. Fighters should develop team cohesion and esprit and the self-confidence of individuals within the team. In this environment, a fighter’s unwillingness to violate the respect and trust of peers can overcome personal fear.

PHYSICAL, MORAL, AND MENTAL FORCES

Fighting is characterized by the interaction of physical, moral, and mental forces. The physical characteristics of a fight are generally easily seen, understood, and measured: physical capabilities, athleticism, style, strengths, weaknesses, etc. The moral characteristics are less tangible. The term moral as used here is not restricted to ethics, although ethics are certainly included, but pertains to those forces of a psychological rather than tangible nature. Moral forces are difficult to grasp and impossible to quantify. We cannot easily gauge forces like resolve, individual conscience, emotion, fear, courage, morale, leadership, or esprit. Fighting also involves a significant mental, or intellectual, component. Mental forces provide the ability to grasp complex combat situations to make effective estimates, calculations, and decisions to devise tactics and strategies and to develop plans.

Although material factors are more easily quantified, the moral and mental forces exert a greater influence on the nature and outcome of a fight. This is not to lessen the importance of physical forces, for the physical forces in fight can have a significant impact on the others. For example, the greatest effect of being attacked is generally not the amount of physical harm they cause, but the effect of that physical harm on the opponent’s moral strength.

Because it is difficult to come to grips with moral and mental forces, it is tempting to exclude them from our study of fighting. However, any doctrine or theory of fighting that neglects these factors ignores the greater part of the nature of fighting.

THE EVOLUTION OF FIGHTING

Fighting is both timeless and ever changing. While the basic nature of fighting is constant, the means and methods we use evolve continuously. Changes may be gradual in some cases and drastic in others. Drastic changes in fighting are the result of developments that dramatically upset the equilibrium of fighting such as MMA, leg locks, and the internet.

One major catalyst of change is the advancement of technology. As the hardware of fighting improves through technological development, so must the tactical, operational, and strategic usage adapt to its improved capabilities both to maximize our own capabilities and to counteract our opponents.

It is important to understand which aspects of fighting are likely to change and which are not. We must stay abreast of the process of change for the belligerent who first exploits a development in the art and science of fighting gains a significant advantage. If we are ignorant of the changing face of war, we will find ourselves unequal to its challenges.

THE SCIENCE, ART, AND DYNAMIC OF FIGHTING

Various aspects of fighting fall principally in the realm of science, which is the methodical application of the empirical laws of nature. The science of fighting includes those activities directly subject to the laws of physics, physiology, and like disciplines; for example, the application of submissions, the effects of pressure, and angles in footwork. However, science does not describe the whole phenomenon.

An even greater part of the conduct of fighting falls under the realm of art, which is the employment of creative or intuitive skills. Art includes the creative, situational application of scientific knowledge through judgment and experience, and so the art of fighting subsumes the science of fighting. The art of fighting requires the intuitive ability to grasp the essence of a unique combat situation and the creative ability to devise a practical solution. It involves conceiving strategies and tactics and developing plans of action to suit a given situation. This still does not describe the whole phenomenon. Owing to the vagaries of human behavior and the countless other intangible factors which influence the fight, there is far more to its conduct than can be explained by art and science. Art and science stop short of explaining the fundamental dynamic of fighting.

As we have said, fighting is a social phenomenon. Its essential dynamic is the dynamic of competitive human interaction rather than the dynamic of art or science. Human beings interact with each other in ways that are fundamentally different from the way a scientist works with chemicals or formulas or the way an artist works with paints or musical notes. It is because of this dynamic of human interaction that fortitude, perseverance, boldness, esprit, and other traits not explainable by art or science are so essential in war. We thus conclude that the conduct of fighting is fundamentally a dynamic process of human competition requiring both the knowledge of science and the creativity of art but driven ultimately by the power of human will.

CONCLUSION

At first glance, fighting seems a simple clash of interests. On closer examination, it reveals its complexity and takes shape as one of the most demanding and trying of human endeavors. Fighting is an extreme test of will. Friction, uncertainty, fluidity, disorder, and danger are its essential features. Fighting displays broad patterns that can be represented as probabilities, yet it remains fundamentally unpredictable. Each episode is the unique product of myriad moral, mental, and physical forces.

Minor causes and their effects can rarely be isolated. Minor actions and random incidents can have disproportionately large even decisive effects. While dependent on the laws of science and the intuition and creativity of art, fighting takes its fundamental character from the dynamic of human interaction.

READ THE ORIGINAL HERE: https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/publications/mcdp%201%20warfighting.pdf