NOTE: This article was originally written for the now defunct Paladin Press blog. It was intended originally for our martial arts students. As our business model expanded to include various other types of survival skills we quickly realized that this model worked there as well. The more we used it "the more the spirit of the thing itself, made itself known" as Miyamoto Musashi would say, and it quickly even influenced our business practices. For those reasons it eventually became not just the Survival Triangle but the Survival/Victory/Success Triangle. Keep an eye out in the future for an expanded treatment of this subject. For now enjoy.
The Survival/Success/Victory Triangle
by Tony Torre
📷Since I mention the survival/victory/success triangle in my DVD Filipino Dirty Boxing, I thought it fitting that this article should cover this subject to a greater degree.
The survival/victory/success triangle is a model we use to design and evaluate our curriculum. Depending on the context in which it is used, it can be either the survival, victory, or success triangle. For example, in street defense it would be the survival triangle. In combat sports, it would be the victory triangle, and in life it would be the success triangle. It represents the three critical elements that will affect the outcome of a physical confrontation. Simply put, those elements are mindset, physical attributes, and skill. While we could break each of these elements down further, with each having several triangles of their own, we’ll keep this treatment focused on the implementation of the survival/victory/success triangle.
As a tool of program design it is critical since it forces us to look at all three elements, not just our favorite ones. Take a beginning student as an example, he’s there to learn martial skills, but his body may not be physically prepared to endure the rigors of training like an advanced student might. While most skills are learned fairly easily, they do not become reliable without hours of practice. However, like the old adage says, “It’s not practice that makes perfect; it’s perfect practice that makes perfect!”
We know that fatigue degrades skill, so it would not be best to take a complete beginner and put him through the training regimen of a more advanced practitioner. This would lead to bad habits and possibly injuries. Instead, we would work on developing such attributes as strength or endurance at the first sign of degradation in technique form. So a beginner’s class may kick off with a general warm-up, a more specific warm-up, a skill session, some general conditioning, and finally a cool down. Interestingly enough, an intermediate class may look similar to this, but the warm-up may be a little shorter, the skills session longer and more intense, and the conditioning more specific and intense. In any case, by taking all three elements into consideration when putting a class together, we not only make it a more appropriate training session, we make it more effective too!
As a diagnostic tool, the survival/victory/success triangle really shines. It allows us to pinpoint our exact weakness. Armed with this information, we can now set out to fix it. For example, a fighter with great form and timing finds himself being bested by lesser opponents in the later rounds. We know what to do to bring about victory. Work on his conditioning! If a fit and skilled fighter continually shies away from other equally skilled fighters we may recognize this as a mind set issue, and work on strengthening his moral or self image. A young and fit trainee may have a great mindset, but if he is constantly bested by other fighters his problem may be of a technical or tactical nature. With that now highlighted it becomes very easy to see where we need to focus our attention. Try it out for yourself and see what it reveals for you.
Guro Tony Torre is featured in the new Paladin DVD, Filipino Dirty Boxing. In the video Torre blends the traditional with the modern to form a comprehensive fighting system designed to enhance any fighter’s training regimen.
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