Closed Hand Kem-‘Ba-Tivz Disk 1

After a segmented introduction with McCann sitting and talking to the camera that covers what he will teach, how it fits with the Combatives curriculum, why learn to punch, the Combatives mentality, developing your default, and injuries, he starts the actual instruction of the program by teaching how to wrap your hands so you don’t injure yourself during training. Note that those first segments take about 24 minutes and contain some excellent advice, and the camera cuts away to other scenes and angles to make it interesting. McCann talks in a lively and engaging manner, so just listening to him is not boring, and you will learn a lot.

After McCann teaches you how to properly protect your hands by wrapping them, he has a short section on glove selection. Again, he provides excellent advice on the topic, as he does in the next section on personal equipment to protect yourself. He covers headgear, mouth guards, groin protection, and so on. Watch and learn from this section and listen to him. Injuries stop your training, so train hard, but train smart. Next, McCann discusses many of the bags, shields, and pads you can use for training, including BOB, in detail. Good advice on these as well. The first disc is just over 78 minutes long, and covers everything you need to know before you start punching. Very good introduction before you actually start training. Please be sure to watch this first disc and take McCann’s advice to train safely.

Closed Hand Kem-‘Ba-Tivz Disk 2

Disc 2 gets into the instruction on how to punch. In his straight forward, no BS style, McCann makes it clear that he is not preparing you to climb into the ring, and that his instruction is not the same as you’ll find in boxing and Muay Thai gyms. His focus is on incorporating punching into Combatives for real fights, and nothing more. And the instruction is excellent for this realm!

This second disc is just under 78 minutes long and covers: the jab, cross, uppercut, hook, and overhand right. These are the basic punches and McCann does a great job of teaching them and their application. But he also teaches topics such as body punching, elbows, knees, push kicks, and leg kicks. Remember, his goal is for you to incorporate these punches into your Combatives training. He also teaches striking combinations, defense (very basic, but practical), and combative sequences where you are putting punches into Combatives.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent DVD set and recommend it to anyone who includes, or wants to include, punching, or closed hand strikes, in their curriculum. If you train in Combatives, you will definitely want to incorporate the lessons learned in this program into your training. Before you punch on the street, train for it. Use this DVD set and McCann’s instruction to maximize your training and its effectiveness on the street.

Order Closed Hand Kem-Ba-Tivz here!

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– Kelly McCann

Martial art training, reality based self-defense training, and any other program of physical personal protection won’t help you one bit if you don’t have the proper mindset. Without developing the fighter’s mindset, a person will fail to effectively use the training from such programs. And the person with the fighter’s mindset will often prevail even if the person has had no other training. Going berserk on an attacker with everything you have can be just as effective, sometimes even more effective, than so called fighting systems. But you will only do this when you have the proper mindset.

Important ingredients to developing your fighter’s mindset include: Be Aware, Be Decisive, Be courageous, Be Willing, Be Vicious, Be Determined, Be Cool, Believe in Yourself, and Be Nice.  These are all areas that are covered in How To Protect Yourself By Developing A Fighter’s Mindset.  All of them are very important for you to be able to defend yourself.

Many times, when violence happens, it erupts explosively with no time to think about what you are going to do. Sure, there are often many cues leading up to an attack, and through being aware, you can circumvent or prevent the altercation altogether. But other times it all happens blindingly fast. In those instances, you must be able to go from a dead stop to full speed without thought, without hesitation, and with full commitment. Anything less might not get the job done, and in these situations you cannot afford to fail.

If you want to protect yourself, you must first develop your fighter’s mindset.

Awareness, or situational awareness, is the single best self-defense principle there is. Awareness enables you to avoid many violent encounters people face, and is the best way to ensure your safety. No matter what you know, how you train, or what weapons you carry, avoidance is the best way to prevent harm to yourself and loved ones.  Download the Free Guide to Situational Awareness, which is one of the chapters in How To Protect Yourself By Developing A Fighter’s Mindset and get started on developing the proper mindset and staying safe right now.

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After appearing on the cover of Black Belt magazine in 2008, he wrote this book that was published by Black Belt Books. It’s an attractive 8 1/2 x 11 inch book with full color pictures throughout. Some might not like the larger black borders, or the full page photos that introduce the chapters, but I found them to be different than many self-defense books and felt it made this book unique and didn’t mind them at all. I liked the different layout.

The real reason this book is valuable is McCann’s knowledge. It could be written on the back of a napkin and would still be worth reading. His no BS, straight to the point, style is as direct and powerful as the basic combative strikes and kicks he teaches.

Chapter one describes what combatives are and provides a little history as well as the current state of combatives. I also really liked the short section regarding internet forums.

Chapter two touches on the realities of confrontations. There are short sections on avoidance, situational awareness, and attack-recognition skills. He also discusses physiological effects of imminent danger, mitigating duress dysfunctions, and combatives traits and characteristics. Mindset, winning, and confrontations in real life are also topics in this chapter.

Chapter three contains short descriptions and illustrating photographs of fourteen combatives principles. Principles such as go armed, apply power explosively, use the right weapon, and full body-weight striking. These principles are important for self-defense regardless of any style or techniques you may practice.

Chapter four covers combatives methodology and explains McCann’s hard-core training routines. Real altercations and confrontations are serious, and so is the training McCann advocates. He does include information on training aids and safety, but the real thing that stands out from this chapter is the intensity and hard-core training presented.

Chapter five instructs on combatives positions and movements. Stances, or starting positions, movement, and swaying and hollowing out are some of what’s covered in this short chapter.

Chapter six, defensive skills, covers just what the title states. Fending, checking, and blocking are covered here. This includes blocking weapon attacks. The things McCann teaches are illustrated with accompanying photographs.

Chapter seven teaches the combatives strikes. These include the finger jab, hammerfist, face smash, ax hand, and knees, elbows, and kicks among others. Again, accompanying photographs illustrate the various blows. McCann also is clear when describing the execution of the techniques that you explode into them and use all your body weight to your advantage.

Chapter eight provides some unarmed situational self-offense situations. McCann provides a brief bit on use of force, and then provides a few scenarios with examples of how one could defend themselves in such a situation. The pictures are clear and the techniques simple and brutal. A couple of the scenarios involve handgun defense, which are the same techniques those familiar with McCann’s DVDs have seen him teach.

Finally there is an afterword that contains a few corollaries between combatives and the U.S. Marine Corps Field Manual 1 (FM 1) Warfighting.

Combatives For Street Survival: Hard-Core Countermeasures for High-Risk Situations by Kelly McCann provides some excellent advice and instruction regarding self-defense and the person who learns the techniques and principles in this book, and who trains hard as McCann advises, will be much better prepared if ever faced with a violent and unexpected assault.

Click here to check out Kelly McCann’s DVDs and watch the previews to see him in action!

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