Listed below are reasons for replacing structured boxing “bouts” with “pressure drills”.
Pressure drills are high intensity fight drills that simulate a variety of fight positions. These positions simulate what a patrol officer might encounter during a physical confrontation against an aggressive, combative subject.
During these drills, the students are exposed to strikes and must perform proper defenses against them. They also are required to aggressively return strikes. Recruits are taught blocking skills to protect themselves. They are forced to do this from a variety of positions (on the ground, against a wall, standing).
DT Instructors are the “aggressive subjects” during these drills. The advantage of this is that instructors are able to modify the intensity of their strikes and also specifically target certain areas of the body. This forces the recruits to properly perform the blocking techniques.
The instructors are also able to provide immediate feedback and give verbal “on the spot” corrections regarding the students technique. This arrangement allows for corrections to be made while minimizing physical trauma. The instructors are “role players” in these drills. They offer just enough resistance to allow the recruits to perform the correct technique.
The duration of these high intensity drills can extend from 60 to 90 seconds and they typically consist of 3 consecutive drills (3-4 ½ minutes total duration and work time). This puts the recruits training into an anaerobic mode and requires the student to perform while extremely fatigued. Putting the intensity in this range also forces the recruits to perform while being psychologically fatigued. Since the intensity is controlled by the instructor, a student is not given the option of resting or slowing down.
When engaged in a boxing “bout”, both participants can choose NOT to engage due to fatigue. This self-induced “break” does not force the participants to perform while physically and psychologically fatigued.
After the first pressure drill station is completed, the student is given a brief recovery period and then proceeds to a second and then third station. Each station forces the recruit to defend against strikes and body control positions from the instructor.
Studies have been done on the heart rate of students going through pressure drills. The study compared the heart rates of students engaged in actual boxing bouts to the heart rate of the student going through the pressure drills. The results showed that the heart rates for students in the pressure drills were as high, or higher than, students who were engaged in actual bouts.
These stations mimic positions of a real fight. Statistically, almost all fights end up on the ground. For a resistant subject to be handcuffed, bringing that person to the ground is often a necessity.
When a subject is on the ground their ability to flee and strike becomes extremely limited. Due to this, an officer needs to be able to learn to be offensive and defensive from the ground position. Pressure drills expose an officer to this situation.
A survey of on-duty injuries of members reveals most injuries resulting from grappling with a subject. These injuries consist of the stressing of joints during the altercation or trauma from contact with the ground. A very small percentage of injuries are the result of being struck in the face.
While this is a serious attack on an officer and training should address this issue, statistically an officer is most often in a grappling situation with a resistant subject. In these situations, bringing the subject to the ground in a prone position lessens the subject’s ability to flee and cause trauma to the officer with strikes. The majority of time training should address the most common situations.
In certain pressure drills, students complete the drill with body armor and duty belts. This forces the students to fight and also be aware of their weapon.
During certain drills the instructor will also attempt to remove the student’s gun from their holster. This forces gun retention while under the stress of having to defend and return strikes when applicable.
Students in pressure drills wear headgear, mouthpieces, body armor, and boxing or mixed martial arts gloves (depending on the drill). They are exposed to a variety of DT moves including strikes to the head and body.
During boxing bouts, the student has the option of not engaging (rest) or overwhelming the opponent with blind aggression. Depending on the student’s opponent, actual physical exchanges only account for a fraction of the round.
Recruits have been boxing 2 – 3 minute rounds. The length of the round does not account for the actual time of engagement. Also, if a bout ends in a knockout, both subjects do not have to “fight” for the full round.
An aggressive student can become confident in his ability to “knock out” their opponent. A defeated student loses confidence and can become extremely hesitant for future engagements. Neither situation actually tests the student to perform and “win” under prolonged physical and psychological stress.
Boxing bouts frequently are accompanied with injuries such as separated shoulders or concussions-even with full gear and protection. Blind aggression results in students throwing punches as hard as possible in hopes of knocking their opponent out, even though they are told this is not their goal during the bouts.
The instructors in pressure drills are able to vary the intensity of strikes and force the student to defend properly for the full duration of the pressure drill. This also greatly reduces the likelihood of an injury. When a student has an injury as above they are typically not able to continue training for weeks.
These drills are currently utilized by the LAPD, Dallas PD, Border Patrol, Lowell PD and Boston PD (as per Sergeant George Ryan LAPD).
When some people are told about bouts being replaced by pressure drills a few common responses arise.
One response has to do with recruits “needing to know what it feels like to be punched” or “hit in the head/face”. If this were the case then we could simply line the recruits up against the wall and “punch” them in the face.
The fact is that you can’t get better at “taking a punch”. It has the potential of causing long term damage. Time is better spent learning to “not get punched”.
The pressure drills do have contact to the head but under controlled conditions. This is done with recruits wearing headgear as an instructor applies strikes with the proper intensity, and provides on the spot coaching to correct any immediate deficiencies. Contact can be very light as it is the defensive action that is being measured, not the intensity.
The defensive movement is what is being measured. This movement does not change regardless of the intensity of the strike. Therefore, light pressure is all that is needed to ensure the correct defensive motion is being used.
The initial argument of “needing to know what it feels like to be punched” also does not get addressed in situations where one person overwhelms the other in a bout. The aggressive person who ends the match with a knockout or multiple knockdowns often does not receive any significant blows.
By winning their match in this manner they do not “satisfy” the previous argument.
During a bout it is often seen as negative when a recruit does not engage or turns away from an aggressor who is overwhelming them. They are told to engage and continue the fight. While fighting through an overwhelming situation can be paramount to one’s survival, forcing them into a situation where the odds are against them with little chance of winning is not a good tactic. This is almost the definition of Officer created Jeopardy.
During situations like this a better option for winning and survival is to tactfully disengage, go to a higher use of force option and re engage with better tactics, thus increasing the odds of surviving such a confrontation.
Forcing someone to “get back in there and take their beating” is not teaching good tactics or furthering that persons training.
Check out our EFC Level 2 Advanced Instructor Certification that focuses on reality based pressure drills. You can also read more about Reality Based Training (RBT) by checking out this article.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Effective Fitness Combatives. Any content provided by our authors or contributors is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any group, organization, company, or individual.
Pressure drills are high intensity fight drills that simulate a variety of fight positions. These positions simulate what a patrol officer might encounter during a physical confrontation against an aggressive, combative subject.
During these drills, the students are exposed to strikes and must perform proper defenses against them. They also are required to aggressively return strikes. Recruits are taught blocking skills to protect themselves. They are forced to do this from a variety of positions (on the ground, against a wall, standing).
DT Instructors are the “aggressive subjects” during these drills. The advantage of this is that instructors are able to modify the intensity of their strikes and also specifically target certain areas of the body. This forces the recruits to properly perform the blocking techniques.
The instructors are also able to provide immediate feedback and give verbal “on the spot” corrections regarding the students technique. This arrangement allows for corrections to be made while minimizing physical trauma. The instructors are “role players” in these drills. They offer just enough resistance to allow the recruits to perform the correct technique.
The duration of these high intensity drills can extend from 60 to 90 seconds and they typically consist of 3 consecutive drills (3-4 ½ minutes total duration and work time). This puts the recruits training into an anaerobic mode and requires the student to perform while extremely fatigued. Putting the intensity in this range also forces the recruits to perform while being psychologically fatigued. Since the intensity is controlled by the instructor, a student is not given the option of resting or slowing down.
When engaged in a boxing “bout”, both participants can choose NOT to engage due to fatigue. This self-induced “break” does not force the participants to perform while physically and psychologically fatigued.
After the first pressure drill station is completed, the student is given a brief recovery period and then proceeds to a second and then third station. Each station forces the recruit to defend against strikes and body control positions from the instructor.
Studies have been done on the heart rate of students going through pressure drills. The study compared the heart rates of students engaged in actual boxing bouts to the heart rate of the student going through the pressure drills. The results showed that the heart rates for students in the pressure drills were as high, or higher than, students who were engaged in actual bouts.
These stations mimic positions of a real fight. Statistically, almost all fights end up on the ground. For a resistant subject to be handcuffed, bringing that person to the ground is often a necessity.
When a subject is on the ground their ability to flee and strike becomes extremely limited. Due to this, an officer needs to be able to learn to be offensive and defensive from the ground position. Pressure drills expose an officer to this situation.
A survey of on-duty injuries of members reveals most injuries resulting from grappling with a subject. These injuries consist of the stressing of joints during the altercation or trauma from contact with the ground. A very small percentage of injuries are the result of being struck in the face.
While this is a serious attack on an officer and training should address this issue, statistically an officer is most often in a grappling situation with a resistant subject. In these situations, bringing the subject to the ground in a prone position lessens the subject’s ability to flee and cause trauma to the officer with strikes. The majority of time training should address the most common situations.
In certain pressure drills, students complete the drill with body armor and duty belts. This forces the students to fight and also be aware of their weapon.
During certain drills the instructor will also attempt to remove the student’s gun from their holster. This forces gun retention while under the stress of having to defend and return strikes when applicable.
Students in pressure drills wear headgear, mouthpieces, body armor, and boxing or mixed martial arts gloves (depending on the drill). They are exposed to a variety of DT moves including strikes to the head and body.
During boxing bouts, the student has the option of not engaging (rest) or overwhelming the opponent with blind aggression. Depending on the student’s opponent, actual physical exchanges only account for a fraction of the round.
Recruits have been boxing 2 – 3 minute rounds. The length of the round does not account for the actual time of engagement. Also, if a bout ends in a knockout, both subjects do not have to “fight” for the full round.
An aggressive student can become confident in his ability to “knock out” their opponent. A defeated student loses confidence and can become extremely hesitant for future engagements. Neither situation actually tests the student to perform and “win” under prolonged physical and psychological stress.
Boxing bouts frequently are accompanied with injuries such as separated shoulders or concussions-even with full gear and protection. Blind aggression results in students throwing punches as hard as possible in hopes of knocking their opponent out, even though they are told this is not their goal during the bouts.
The instructors in pressure drills are able to vary the intensity of strikes and force the student to defend properly for the full duration of the pressure drill. This also greatly reduces the likelihood of an injury. When a student has an injury as above they are typically not able to continue training for weeks.
These drills are currently utilized by the LAPD, Dallas PD, Border Patrol, Lowell PD and Boston PD (as per Sergeant George Ryan LAPD).
When some people are told about bouts being replaced by pressure drills a few common responses arise.
One response has to do with recruits “needing to know what it feels like to be punched” or “hit in the head/face”. If this were the case then we could simply line the recruits up against the wall and “punch” them in the face.
The fact is that you can’t get better at “taking a punch”. It has the potential of causing long term damage. Time is better spent learning to “not get punched”.
The pressure drills do have contact to the head but under controlled conditions. This is done with recruits wearing headgear as an instructor applies strikes with the proper intensity, and provides on the spot coaching to correct any immediate deficiencies. Contact can be very light as it is the defensive action that is being measured, not the intensity.
The defensive movement is what is being measured. This movement does not change regardless of the intensity of the strike. Therefore, light pressure is all that is needed to ensure the correct defensive motion is being used.
The initial argument of “needing to know what it feels like to be punched” also does not get addressed in situations where one person overwhelms the other in a bout. The aggressive person who ends the match with a knockout or multiple knockdowns often does not receive any significant blows.
By winning their match in this manner they do not “satisfy” the previous argument.
During a bout it is often seen as negative when a recruit does not engage or turns away from an aggressor who is overwhelming them. They are told to engage and continue the fight. While fighting through an overwhelming situation can be paramount to one’s survival, forcing them into a situation where the odds are against them with little chance of winning is not a good tactic. This is almost the definition of Officer created Jeopardy.
During situations like this a better option for winning and survival is to tactfully disengage, go to a higher use of force option and re engage with better tactics, thus increasing the odds of surviving such a confrontation.
Forcing someone to “get back in there and take their beating” is not teaching good tactics or furthering that persons training.
Check out our EFC Level 2 Advanced Instructor Certification that focuses on reality based pressure drills. You can also read more about Reality Based Training (RBT) by checking out this article.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Effective Fitness Combatives. Any content provided by our authors or contributors is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any group, organization, company, or individual.