I've done several types martial arts in past and as I've gotten older I find myself gravitating towards the simpler KISS systems.  I've gone through Karate, Judo, Aikido, boxing, wrestling and BJJ.  Now I find that theres a lot to learn from those other systems but many times there's just too many techniques and many of them are just plain unusable in a SHTF scenario.

The most street usable arts from my experience are Boxing and BJJ.  Master the basic techniques and they will serve you well.  I've become very big on basic usable techniques that can be learned and put to use in the real world.  I mean how often am I going to engage in fight with a UFC mixed martial arts specialist?  

With this in mind a started looking at military combatives and I stumbled on the old non-pc gutterfighting techniques taught by Fairbairn, Sykes and Applegate.  These old techniques work and are simple to execute and were designed to kill your opponent in a quick no nonsense way.  Yes, it's politically incorrect but that's what it was all about.  The techniques they taught are found in the many of the other arts but what differentiates WWII Combatives is the mindset they used and trained to acquire.  Attack! Attack Attack! Then Attack some more!  It's very aggressive but I believe it's the real key to surviving when your back is against the wall and $hit is about to hit the fan!

I'm posting a couple of threads from another forum I frequent. It's really good stuff, especially "Nuts & Bolts", I thought all the AR15.Com members could benefit from them.

Let me know what you think!

Continued below.

WWII Combatives cont.

Excerpted from Close Combat - Note for Instructors
By W.E. Fairbairn

Part "B"

UNARMED

(For those who have been FOOLISH and caught unarmed)

Method No. 1 - Edge of Hand Blows

Fingers and thumb straight out. Strike with little-finger edge of hand.

Points of Attack: Forearm bone, wrist, side of neck, one inch below adams apple, back of neck, etc.

Method No. 2 - "Chin-Jab"

This is a close-in blow and must be given with all possible force in an upward direction.

Points of Attack: Up under the chin with the heel of the hand - fingers extended to reach the eyes.

Method N0. 3 - "Tigers Claw"

Into the eyes and face with a poston-like forward jab. Fingers bent like a tiger's claw. Weight of body to be behind blow with no "telegraphing" of the intention to strike.
This is the most effective hand blow ever worked out. It has the advantage of three inches additional length as compared to a "straight" left and can be achieved with lightening like speed.
It is a complete answer to any attempt at a frontal attack and permits one to deal effectively with one's opponent before he is really dangerous.

Method No, 4 - Kicking

Method of kicking: Turn right foot sideways to the left and kick forward. Make contact on the shin-bone with the outside edge of the sole of the boot. Follow through by transferring the weight of your body from the left to the right foot and smash down with your boot on to the small bones of opponent's foot.

Special Note:

1. Any student who thoroughly masters the three hand blows and the method of kicking (no matter what his strength or build may be) will be able to effectively deal with any un-armed opponent.
2. All these methods are ATTACKING, not DEFENSIVE and should be applied in conjunction with each other.

Fairbairn on strategy/tactics/mind-set:

"........unfair and unethical methods of fighting in which acts of artifice, force, vehemence, and shock are of major importance and in which all earmarks of the concepts of fair-play and good sportsmanship must be eliminated."

WWII Combatives cont.

NUTS & BOLTS (By Carl Cestari)

Fundamental "nuts & bolts" training for close combat should be directed at dealing with the extremes. That is a life and death struggle for survival, i.e. worst case scenario. Restraint, control, and use of force scenarios and methods are peripheral to this core training. In other words train to deal with these beliefs at the forefront: The enemy is quite willing and capable of killing you - there are multiple threats - they are armed - the assailant(s) are bigger, stronger than you and they CAN FIGHT! Can it get any worse that that? Now add this to the mix: You are physically/mentally exhausted - ill or injured - caught by absolute surprise - may have to protect others as well - no viable avenue of E&E.

So what do we HAVE to do? I think we would all agree that immediate and absolute "threat" elimination by the most extreme(hence most reliable) measures possible is really the only pragmatic answer. So now what?

Let's look to real world models for some possible answers. Three potential goals seem obvious:
1 - immediate cessation of life. Yes, killing the SOB's outright!
2 - unconscioussness. Knocking the SOB's out cold!
3 - Acute traumatic shock(least viable). Making it physically impossible for the SOB's to do ANYTHING. I would heartily suggest following up with 1 or 2. John Minnery had a good line,"If you killed him once and you're sure he's dead, kill him again and be dead sure". If anyone regards this as melodramtic or overly harsh, well consider what you would do if some animal were about to harm your wife, children, etc.

cont.

Nut's & Bolts cont.

Considering the worst case, it seems only logical that we attack the most viable targets with ruthless, abject brutality.Priority #1 - the throat/neck region and the face/skull(brain box). Everything else is secondary. Why? These two areas assure the "biggest bang for the buck" so to speak. Reality sucks, so you may very well have only ONE CHANCE, you had better make it the best chance possible! This applies to unarmed as well as armed combat.

Attack the throat with the INTENTION of crushing it! No brainer.
Attack the anterior/lateral carotid triangle. One of TWO primary KO points. Kyusho/Dim Mak this AIN'T! Just "hammer" the bastard. Fast, hard and often is the key phrase!
Attack the cervical spine/C-1 - dens bone attachment.
Attack the head/brain case. Now here we get interesting. The goal in attacking the head should be, in my opinion, to cause ACUTE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. Other possible injuries are secondary. Attack with the intention of causing massive "coup contra coup" brain trauma, either through translational or rotational impact. Cause severe "kinking" of the brain stem, either by hyper flexion or extension. Forget the "death touch" stuff. THIS IS HOW people in the real world get F***ed up. Just research contact sports injuries, i.e. football, hockey, soccer, boxing and judo. Shocking the medulla and the the raephi ganglia are proven "shut downs" in the real world. Second proven KO is located at the jawline lateral to the chin at about the spot where the mental foramen is located(draw a vertical line down from corner of mouth). This is the classic boxing KO and is due in large part to rotational acceleration causing "brain bounce" or concussive referal shock and acute twisting of the cervical vertabrae.

No one is saying that this is "easy", BUT it is what you are going to HAVE to do. Sometimes you CAN attack directly, sometimes you can't. Uncle Murphy rules the roost here. So you DO whatever you have to DO, but get there! Spit in his eyes, slam a kick(with real intent and hopefully solid boots) into his shins, crush his nuts with a knee, grab the bastard and bite his nose off.......whatever! Shock him, rock him, and knock him out! Or just smile simperingly and waste the skel with total abject ruthlessness. Then go home and get a good nights sleep.

It ain't pretty, it ain't easy, it ain't fun, this is SERIOUS "guano"and your very life and well-being will be hanging in the balance. Either stand up, accept it and deal with it, or fold your hand, the choice is yours. The morgue is filled with compromise. Survival is it's OWN REWARD!