Making it Combative with Incidental strikes

f you want your system of Combatives to be just that; Combative then once you come down to the core physical element, i

makes sense that each and every movement that your body makes is as destructively efficient as possible; in order to deal wit

he threat ASAP. It also makes sense that you train your method right up to the extreme end of the threat scale in the form of

ontinuous ballistic attack with as much Vehemence as you can muster. If you have the volume you can always turn it down t

meet a less dangerous threat, but the same doesnt work so well in reverse i.e. if you if you dont have the volume to turn up i

he first place.

One useful element that you can add towards this aim; is what Kelly MacCann refers to as Incidental strikes (IS) this concep

will make the delivery system of your attack a lot more functional. Typical examples of an (IS) can be seen in some of th

ollowing sequences.

Wheeling elbows; here we can see the elbows employed as a wheeling attack very similar to the way John Styers; autho strike.

classic 1950's text Cold Steel would use it. Here the (IS) is an incidental Ax hand on the way through to the second follow u

Angular strike; this might be a slap or if you prefer closed fists; a hook punch. Here the (IS) is a shot with the opposite hand on th

way through, either a backhand slap/Ax hand or a hammer-fist. In this example the back slap is immediately followed by the forehan

slap in combination for maximum effect. Performed in this way the back slap is thrown first followed by the forehand slap as one beat. I

other words if you think of the back hand as one beat and the forehand as a second beat then it would look like this; onetwoinstea

of that the combination is thrown as one, two using an almost simultaneous action. In this way the second strike gathers impact powe from the momentum created by the first shot, for twice the effect.

Elbow to knee strike; here again why would you simply grab your opponent to pull him onto an knee after your elbow strike, when there is an perfect opportunity to strike as you rag him downward. In this case the (IS) is again, an Ax hand.

Thunderclap to head butt; from this double slap motion to the head, you are in an ideal position to pull him explosively onto a hea butt. The (IS) here is to thumb the eyes just before the head goes in.

Elbow from Thai clinch; from here the (IS) is a little shot created by popping the head with the inside of the bicep. This rings his bell and lifts the head nicely, right into the trajectory of the elbow strike.

Nelson straight-arm bar; The wrist is grabbed and turned whilst simultaneously striking to the high line from here the arm-bar i applied. The (IS) in this example is a forearm smash to the ulna nerve on the back of the arm as the arm bar is applied.

Escort hold; here we are looking at the side come along position more common to door/security people. Here if the perso

complies then just walk him out. If not then you have plenty of sneaky little options from here. (ISs) include a painful pinc to triceps area as well as a well-placed wrench to the elbow joint as means to gain pain compliance.

Two hands shove; again good for security; use a two handed shove to get someone out the door, and if necessary insert a

(IS) in the form of a cradle blow to the throat (using moderate force.) Here the strike is performed as part of the shove and i CCTV.

followed by bringing the hands straight back to a hands high fence; as you maintain a non-aggressive demeanour. Good fo

Basically any Combative method that you employ should be looking to aggravate the aggressors targets as efficiently a

ossible. So dont pull a limb by clothing when you can rag, pull and rip skin. Dont put in one strike if the path of trajector

ffers you two on the half beat. Get the idea? Understand that we are talking about worse case scenario events here and we ar

alking about Combatives not sport and not a reciprocal exchange of movement.

Peace out.

Counter Weapons Training Counter weapons' training is a major topic and is deserving of an entire book of its own if you are to attempt doing any justice to he subject at all. Please bare in mind that no one system of martial art or Combatives will ever hold all the answers regarding mpty hands against weapons, particularly when concerning the knife. What I teach is based on what I feel are the best methods hat I have come across during the last 24 years of training. My sources come from an array of methods and experienced people, rom Filipino Kali and also from Western Combatives as well as from the experience that I have gained from the 4 live knife ituations that I have been involved in so far.

or simplicity any cutting tool regardless, of if it is a Stanley knife, stiletto blade, broken glass or beer bottle will be referred to rom here on as an edged weapon. The fact remains that any of the above tools can only really be used against you in either winging or slashing motion or they can be jabbed and poked at you in a stabbing motion to any number of targets on your erson. Therefore any variation of these two most basic physical actions of what to expect if the knife is actually drawn and you ave seen it. I will not cover such counter measures here as space, will not allow me to do the subject any justice. But we will ake a look at a couple of methods that we can deal with the weapon before it has been drawn.

Body language cues:

Here we are going to rely on our awareness, our instincts and our understanding of body language. We have already discussed ertain elements of this in the preceding chapters. For example understanding the verbal and physical cues of aggressive body anguage, and also understanding the Modus Operandi of our potential aggressor's attack ritual and dialogue. Here we are going o need to become more specific in terms of picking up on any inclination that our potential assailant is indeed carrying a weapon potting any clue to that fact, before the weapon is bought into play may well be the only thing that will gives you a chance to ake the necessary action to get the jump on the situation.

f your aggressor already has the weapon to hand and the intention to use it, then you are most certainly going to have a harder me dealing with the problem, then if your instincts told you that he is carrying and you take action as soon as your assailant tries o access the weapon thereby shutting down the threat before he can get the knife out. Remember if you find yourself in a

onfrontation situation always assume the aggressor is armed. Always scan for the hands can you see both his hands and all his ingers? Some of the most common methods of concealment are palming the knife, holding it flat against the thigh or keeping the earing hand concealed in a pocket or behind his back out of view. So look out for concealment, if you can't see your assailant's and/s or if his palm is turned in flat against his leg or concealed in a pocket ask yourself why? Remember also that you could be pproached with some kind of distracting dialogue to divert your attention before the aggressor draws the weapon. Look out for rratic eye movement, is his face pale, are his eyes wide, does his body shiver? These are all indications of his adrenal reaction hat will of course be present if his intention is to stab/slash you. Such indications might be the only thing that separates you from ealing with the threat and meeting your maker. We will look at a couple of drills that will allow us to practice working off these ody language cues and shut our aggressor down quickly and clinically.

Here are several examples of Body Language Cues; the first shows the aggressor move one hand behind his back. The second hows one hand concealed by clothing in this case placed inside his coat and the final pictures shows one hand reaching into the ront of his waist band, obscured by his t-shirt as the other attempts to clear the garment for access.

Trap and strike drill:

n this drill you will be working off the reaction or body language cues given off by your partner. Face each other at arms length making sure that you keep your arms by your sides and are stood in a neutral position with no fence. Your partner will have a raining knife behind his back tucked into his waist band. Start at no more than fifty percent speed and have your partner slightly xaggerate his movements so that you get an idea of what you are looking for. Basically if he starts to turn away slightly by moving the weapon bearing side shoulder this is a cue to move, if one of his hands starts to move behind his back or slightly out f view then this is a cue to move. You are looking for any sign that will tell you that your partner is reaching for the weapon. Your immediate action should be to step forward to shut him down and break his balance whilst seizing the arm that moves by rabbing it at the crook of the elbow and jamming it tight against his body. As you do this your free hand goes straight to his face or a chin-jab of a face smash strike or as is a more common reaction, straight to his throat for a claw grip larynx grab. From here ou continue with forward pressure and continuous strikes to eliminate the threat. Once you both have an understanding of the rill as always throw away compliancy and have your partner move at full speed with a committed attempt to draw the training weapon and thrust it towards your body. If he touches you with it you would have been stabbed. Once you start to do this, it will

make you a little jumpy this is good this is how you need to be to bring out the right reaction.

tart bringing in some role play and have your partner wear body armour so that you can put in the strikes with a degree of ealism. Also progress to the point where your partner is wearing a heavy jacket and so all that you know is that he will draw the nife from some where. This could be from a pocket, under his shirt on the front of his waist band, strapped somewhere on his ack or even to a limb or any where else he can think of any and all methods of concealment have been used and all are fair game o try out in this drill. Once you get to this point you will see just how dangerous the edged weapon threat can be. Stopping it here t this point is your best chance of dealing with the threat as once the knife is out it is even harder to deal with.

As the aggressor starts to move his hand behind his back, step in and trap his arm to the side of his body. Aim for the crook of his lbow or anywhere along his forearm. Once you get his arm keep it pinned in tight to his body and don't let go. Be sure to make a imultaneous grab for his throat making sure that you break his balance with forward pressure. Think of replacing his foot steps with your own as you follow up with continuous strikes in this case knees work really well.

Trap and strike drill two:

n this scenario the aggressor has the knife concealed in the front of his waistband under his t-shirt. As soon as a motion is made owards the weapon drop step forward and pin both hands in place to his body.

Continue this forward motion by driving the top of your head straight into his face follow up by walking violently through him with a rapid knee strike to the groin.

The Axe-Hand Blow

Also know as the edge of hand blow and the chop. This is another major weapon used in Combatives and can also be found in traditional karate and some styles of Chinese kung fu amongst other martial arts.

From a natural position explode forward trapping the arm as you strike your target with out chambering your hands in any way. Follow up with further strikes as shown turning your body into each one.

Method Of Practice To create an Axe hand simply extend your fingers keeping them together, then extend your thumb as this will prevent your hand from cupping on impact. The Axe hand employs the entire surface area from the edge of the hand along the ulna edge of the forearm to just below the elbow as a striking weapon. It can be used to strike in a variety

of ways to a variety of targets, primarily the throat the sides and back of the neck, under the nose the bridge of the nose as well as the forearms and wrists. The beauty of this strike is that you can throw it from any where standing, seated even from a lying position.

Here is the axe hand applied from a seated position up under the nose.

The back hand slap:

The back hand slap is best employed to a potential threat stood slightly to your to flank. The back slap works best from either; the and on the chin position or from the hands together, in front of the chest position. The target area for this strike is the facial area

To slap just strike straight out to the target, from where ever the striking hand is, giving off no telegraphic intention. Just move in he direction of the strike and whip your hips in a split second before the strike lands. This will ensure that your full body weight ccompanies the same for maximum effect.

The back slap can also be followed immediately by the forehand slap in combination for maximum effect. Performed in this way he back slap is thrown first as previously described; but is now immediately followed by the fore hand slap as one beat. In other words if you think of the back hand as one beat and the forehand as a second beat then it would look like this; onetwoinstead f that the combination is thrown as one, two using an almost simultaneous action. In this way the second strike gathers impact ower from the momentum created by the first shot, for twice the effect. Again we are looking at the facial area as a target, this will create shock impact to the CNS but with leave the recipient relatively unharmed other than perhaps a temporary altered state f consciousness and slightly red faced.

Chin-Jab: This was one of the primary attacking tools of WW2 Combatives. It is similar to the palm heel strike found in many Asian martial arts. The difference with the chin-jab is in the formation of the hand and the body mechanics with which is delivered. The correct hand position is made by imagining that you are holding a grapefruit in your hand with your ngers spread apart and curled inwards this makes the hand into a platform for your target which in this case is the hin and jaw bone. The strike is delivered straight up the centre line of your opponent, impacting directly under the hin with the heel of your hand from underneath his peripheral vision.

Method of practice:

The strike is performed in much the same way as a boxing upper cut. Keep a slight bend in your legs as you drop tep forward and slightly to your opponent's side, at the same time you check the back of his upper arm for control nd explosively straighten the legs as the chin-jab is thrown. Your striking forearm is kept close to your own body as ou strike. The step, arm check and strike are performed simultaneously as your foot lands delivering body weight ehind your strike. As with all the strikes you aim to deliver the impact through your target.

Lee Morrison : No text or images may be copied without prior permission of the author.

The O'Neill cover: This is a technique that makes use of our natural flinch response. This originally came from the O'Neill system ala Dermot 'Pat' O'Neill, who was an instructor in Shanghai under Fairbain and again later in WW2. This brings into play a

rop of the head whilst raising your arms for cover as you step in deeply to your opponent, jamming his forward ffensive. Hold your arms in a horizontal formation one on top of the other in front of your face. Make a small gap so hat you can look between your arms as you drive forward, spiking your opponent in the throat with the top orearm/elbow and in the chest area with the other. From here a natural follow up is to drive through and upward into is groin with a rear knee strike as you walk violently through him.

Lee Morrison : No text or images may be copied wi

The cover and fend/Crazy Monkey:

The position for the cover and fend is made by placing both palms on the crown of your head, leaving your forea covering your face and chin. This position is never static but constantly moving and covering the entire head/faci an exaggerated motion of washing your hair, as you slip your body and move your head to the left and right, to p hit moving target.

The hands constantly move to protect the head and face from a multiple punching attack. The front of your forea deal with any frontal straight punch, while the sides of either outer arm can be closed tight to cover any angular ( punches from the side. In reality you want to close him down after one or two punches are taken on the arms; and the clinch. This method combines CQB instructor Simon Squire's method of using the Fend; along with the Craz concept from MMA coach the excellent Rodney King

Additional note:

A good way to practice is to have a partner wearing boxing gloves, throw multiple punches at your head as you s back to a wall. It is important to only go forward as you cover and fend, moving back gives your opponent room develop power. So by training with your back to the wall, the only way you can go is forward. Practice the drill f seconds then close him down into a clinch. This will help you to develop composure to deal with this kind of mu attack. In reality go for the close down as soon as the attack starts whether we are fending multiple punches from or a wind milling Neanderthal the response is the same. Cover your head with your hands and arms, presenting y with only the points of your elbows and forearms to hit and drive forward to close him down as soon as the assau

As the aggressor throws punches strive to destroy his fists with your pointed elbows as you dive through his spac clinch onto his neck.

From here get inside to clinch the neck and finish with multiple knees to the groin and thighs; follow up as appro

Cupped Hand Blow:

This is basically an open hand slap that can be used in a variety of ways. There is a slight cupping of the hand that is chieved by allowing the fingers and thumb stay together in a relaxed curve. This cupping action magnifies the impac f the strike. The target area is the entire side of the head. The ear and the side of the neck are particularly vulnerable ut any where on the side of the face with produce a deep shock force to the central nervous system. This is due to he impact received by the large number of nerve endings in the facial area.

From a natural position that allows you to control the space between you and your potential aggressor, simply throw he cupped hand blow from the side of your hip straight to the target allow your body to move in the direction of the trike by whipping in your hips just before the blow lands.

Lee Morrison : No text or images may be copied without prior permission of the author. Double Slap

This shot is best set up by using dialogue to ask a question with the hands held as if talking in exclamation; such as '' ook mate are you gonna calm down?'' BANG! Method of practice: This is also known as the double ear box or the thunder-clap. This strike is thrown from hands down by your sides, traight to the target which includes both ears and both sides of neck. If you throw the strike from a fence you will eed to cock yours hands slightly before you strike. The best way to disguise this set up is to turn your palms out lightly as you ask your opponent a brain engaging question this will also act as a trigger for your attack which will liminate any indecision of when to strike on your part. This is a good tactic to use with all your strikes and should be ought into play any time you practice your basic strikes on impact equipment such as the heavy bag or the focusads. Double cupped hand blow

amie O'Keefe's preferred method is to strike both sides of the neck simultaneously.

Face Smash This is basically a clawed hand palm strike and is also known as the Tiger's claw. The hand is held as if holding a grapefruit and the strike is delivered in one of two ways. Method Of Practice The first is straight into the face in a piston like fashion off the lead or rear hand, as if throwing a straight left or right punch as a boxer would. This was the original method that was taught by W.E. Fairbairn who said that when facing a frontal attack, your best option is usually the Tiger's claw. The strike is combined with a forward drop step allowing you to put your body weight behind the strike. The second method is best used from a hands held high submissive looking fence. The striking hand is held with the fingers spread as if holding a grapefruit and is delivered straight down into the face as if throwing a baseball. At the same time, you vault forward off your back foot to propel your body forward and into the strike, driving your hand through your target as if trying to touch your own knee. In both cases the aim is to smash the palm into the attacker's face with your fingers curled and spread to maximise the chances of reliably impacting the eyes. Face Smash/Tigers Claw

The lead hand straight piston-like strike, similar to Fairbairn's method.

The straight down, throw the baseball method with arm check. Note; both methods are accompanied by an explosive forward drop step. Although this strike is intended for the facial area you need to understand that the idea behind it is simply to deliver the maximum amount of impact to target area in order to shake the brain and produce a knockout therefore the target area for the head is generic meaning any where that you strike the head as long as you accompany it with sufficient impact, will do the job as the example below will show. Push/pull to face smash & grab:

Use a fast push/pull to spin your opponent whilst keeping a hold of him and placing your arm horizontal with the point of your elbow in his back.

From here grab the scruff of his neck and rag him backwards as you push with your elbow to break his structure. Drop your head and control his exit.

The option is open to use a face smash or Tiger's claw strike to the back of the head if the threat dictated such action. Failed Fence Attack Sequence

Here I am controlling space with my fence but have suddenly felt my aggressor crash forward in an attempt to close me down; m

ead fence hand acts as a sensory antenna and in this case collapses into a cross cover as I fire my chin-jab straight up his centre ne. The cross guard has also placed me in a chambered position for the Ax hand strike to follow as I flank my opponent.

rom here I maintain a grip on my aggressor as I finish the altercation with hard multiple Tiger's claw strikes to the back of his kull. Job done!

The pivot kick:

The pivot kick is basically a round moving kick performed with a semi-straight leg. Impact is made to the outside of the thigh muscle (peroneal nerve) with your shin bone just a Thai kick. The finish position should leave the foot of your kicking leg, with he heel higher than your toes. This is only achieved by pivoting on your support foot and committing your hips through the trike. Think of your leg as a heavy log that you are going to swing through the target without retraction.

Working off the fence; shove your aggressor hard in the center of his chest with the flat of your hand; this will create space by making him take a sudden step backward, leaving his lead leg exposed for the pivot kick.

This is a good low level of force option that has worked well for me in the past. The kick will take the aggressor's mobility and ive him a major dead leg but is relatively injury free apart from that. I also like the fact that, with this shot the person will sually fall laterally onto one shoulder, avoiding impact to their own head as they hit the ground. This alone makes it a safer ption. With mobility gone the person should be easier to control; the saying goes ' if he can't stand, he can't fight.''

Thai kick intervention: (photos from new book Safe on the Door courtesy of Hodder Arnold)

Here we are using the Thai/pivot from behind as a means to intervene. This low line kick to the thigh is a good low level of force ption that has proved extremely effective in this kind of situation on numerous occasions.

As a struggle ensues at the bar area; approach from a good position that offers the side of the aggressor's thigh as a target, from ere just kick straight in and through the leg. (See above for description) This motion will disrupt his structure and balance making a two man restraint available.

rom here both Door Supervisor's take an arm each and lock the limb into place as previously described.

Note how the aggressor is bought up onto his toes by each Door Supervisor by using the tips of their fingers into the houlder/pectoral cavity. From here stay vigilant to your immediate surroundings and escort the Gentleman out.

Shin kick

Here is an example of the shin kick used to counter a hair grab, place both hands on top of the aggressor's hand to rap it in place from here smash the inside edge of your boot straight into his shin bone being sure to drop body weight and stomp through the target.

Method of practice: The shin kick is delivered by taking a slight step forward with your non-kicking leg followed by stomping forward and lightly downward with the inside boot edge of your kicking foot. The kick is aimed at the aggressor's shin any where rom just above the ankle to just below the knee cap. The purpose of the slight step preceding the kick is to allow you o get body weight and momentum behind it. Performed correctly the shin kick will quite literally either blow the ggressor's legs out from under him or severely hyper extend his knee resulting in a fight stopping injury.

The Swivel Punch This is a punch delivered with a vertical fist accompanied by momentum and full body weight. This punch was eveloped by U.S. Marine Corp Close Combat instructor Charles Nelson. Charlie who weighed no more than 130lbs was known for his powerful swivel punch, one time he dealt with a 220lb plus karate man who came to Charlie's chool in New York and challenged him to a match fight. Charlie gave him a NY telephone directory and asked the man if he could first demonstrate his swivel punch, the man agreed and held the phone book against his chest as Charlie proceeded to punch him clear across the room. The man picked himself up, bowed graciously and left.

Here is the legendary Charlie Nelson following up with his swivel punch after preceding the punch with a chop up and nder the nose. Method of practice: This punch can be used as a pre-emptive strike by itself or in combination proceeded by a chop to the bridge of the ose, swivel punch to the heart/solar plexus it's primary target, followed by a sharp knee to the groin. This could be sed to a frontal assailant or to someone slightly to your flank as if you were approached from the side.

n this example I am punching with my left hand and my right lead foot is moved in a circle to the out side of your pponent's right foot as you swivel your hips around in the direction of your punch transferring your entire body weigh nto your lead leg. Punch with a vertical fist as if punching through the centre of your opponent's chest. The sharp wivel of the body and the snap of the hips a split second before the punch is delivered off a recoil from the shoulder llows the full transference of body weight through the target. The mechanics of the punch are quite similar to Peter Consterdine's double hip vertical punch.

Here are a couple of examples of the swivel punch in application the first as a pre-emptive strike and the second as a eaction to a double grab by seizing one hand and punching the solar plexus with the other.

The GHCA FILES

SWAMP How to Make the First Strike Your Last By Bob Kasper, 1996 A few years back I wrote an article which focused on the basic principles of close quarters combat. In that article I gave a brief overview of SCOPE which is an acronym for Simplicity, Control, Offense, Power, and Effectiveness. Each of these principles is as equally important as the other. Take one away and you'll have a hole in your combative skills. One principle which I feel needs to be emphasized is Power. No matter how fast or aggressive you are if you do not possess power in your execution of technique, you're going to fail in stopping your assailant. Executing simplistic, effective techniques will all be in vain unless there is a substantial amount of juice behind those techniques. Peter Robins said the first thing to do in a violent encounter is to "take away the intention." Hit them hard enough, and they'll completely forget why they were even there. The following are my five principles of power that I developed based on my decades of study in the martial arts. I use these whenever I teach a technique. Follow these and make your first strike the last. A while back my Instructors had the assignment to come up with an acronym for these five principles of power development. John Watson came up with SWAMP. S - stay relaxed W - weapon first A - acceleration M - move in the direction of the strike P - plunge your body weight into the technique. Stay relaxed. Of all of the power principles this is probably the hardest to develop. I'm not advocating to stay relaxed when someone is all over you trying to end your breathing habits. It is learning to use your body at maximum proficiency. Staying relaxed is essential for your body to move swiftly and economically. Explosive movement doesn't come from stiff, tense muscles. You need to stay loose. The key word here is concentration. Concentrate on being relaxed before you explode into the technique. You'll find your movements to be much more

dynamic. Weapon first. This is another one of those hard to develop techniques. We want to throw the weapon first so to not telegraph our intentions. Let him feel the technique before he sees it. This is most important when executing a preemptive strike, which should be 100% of the time if possible. Although follow up strikes do tend to be a little more difficult when moving the weapon first, this is no reason not to try. Following this principle as often as possible will make your technique delivery much faster and more powerful. Acceleration. Acceleration is simply speed. Once you move do so as fast as your body can and don't stop until it's over. This is most important on that initial strike. Here we go back to the first principle of staying relaxed. Tense muscles move slower. Stay relaxed and throw that strike as fast as possible and the results will speak for themselves. When you throw a technique, throw it fast. Accelerate, and keep accelerating until it's over. Move in the direction of the strike. During a GHCA Assault I observed our AIs teaching the unarmed section of our combatives training. I stopped the class several times to point out the fact that their bodies were moving in the same direction as the strike. Bodies were turning into axe-hands as well as moving upward with chin-jabs. You can't move mass into a blow when that same mass is moving in a different direction. Plunge your body weight into the technique. In order to do this you must be applying two other principles: Moving the weapon first and moving in the direction of the strike. If you're not moving the weapon first your body is going to move and set before the strike lands and results in your weight settling before the weapon strikes. No mass, no power. If you're not moving in the direction of the strike there is no mass there to plunge. Plunging means throwing all of your body weight directly into the strike before your mass settles. Each of these principles supports the other. Take one away and you'll have a dramatic loss in explosive power. This is especially important in non-telegraphing, pre-emptive strikes. Students have a tendency to want to wind a technique up to get as much power as possible. That's good! But if you're telegraphing your initial strike, all the power in the world isn't going to help when you're on your back in a daze. The key in pre-emptive is delivering explosive power when they're not expecting it. And the only way to do that is to follow the SWAMP principles. As instructors we want to repeat these principles prior to each power development session. Let them sink in so the student can police his own training. We then want to watch for missing principles. Is the student's weight landing after the strike hits, or is it landing before the strike? Is he turning his body into the strike, or is he still, or is he moving away? Are both of his legs moving with his body, or is he leaving his leg lagging behind? Is he loose and moving smoothly, or is he tense and choppy? Is his weapon moving first, or is his hip, leg, arm, torso, etc. moving first? Make sure you show him what he was doing wrong before you show him how to do it right. Unless he sees his mistake, he will think he is doing it right. Watch, detect, analyze, and correct. Hit 'em first, hit 'em fast, hit 'em hard. Note: I'd like to thank John Watson for coming up with this great acronym. It fits perfectly. Webster defines swamp as "overwhelm." This is exactly what we want to do. SWAMP their ass.