Evolution in Martial Science
Model Mugging History
Origins of Martial Science
Matt Thomas founded the concept of teaching women to defend themselves through full-contact fighting, challenging them against a male instructor wearing protective padding. In the summer of 1971, Matt was a student studying karate at a martial arts dojo in Southern California. One of his classmates was a female student and a second-degree black belt who had won martial arts tournaments for sparring and Kata. Kata is a specific set of continuous, beautiful martial art movements that help develop balance, coordination, and rhythm.
Model Mugging student is taken to the ground by the padded assailant in a rear attack self defense scenario.
One night, a female black-belt student entered the dojo in the middle of the black-belt circle. She was visibly upset. She said she had been raped and that despite her fighting skills, she had been unable to defend herself against the rapist. She was walking to her car one evening when she was attacked. He grabbed her, threw her on the ground, and straddled her. She was ineffective when she punched the assailant in his stomach and even thought that she held her punch, just like she had been trained in point tournament fighting or sport fighting. He severely beat her and then raped her. She felt as though she had disgraced the school and her fighting art.
This stunned Matt and all of the other students because there was a black belt whom they had all seen perform beautifully in the dojo, yet who was powerless at the moment when she needed her skills and power. Everyone was silent, waiting to see what the master instructor would say and how he would explain why one of his best students was so unprepared for a real-life battle. But the master did not explain. Instead, he agreed with her. Her instructor had the traditional, old-school mindset that his school and fighting arts were the best. In her mind, she had failed, believing that “failure” had shamed everyone and disgraced her school and their fighting style.
Her instructor said she needed to train harder. She ran away crying, and Matt went after her to offer her support. However, as he turned around, the karate master’s (sensei) eyes told him that if he left, he should not return. This was later validated by explicit instructions from his sensei not to return, given that he had been disrespectful.
Matt, who had watched this woman train with such grace and skill, suddenly questioned the effectiveness of the martial arts when used against a real-life attacker. Matt felt the martial arts and the school had failed this black belt student by letting her believe she could adequately defend herself when, in fact, she could not. She was taught an art, but she was not taught how to protect herself against the kinds of attacks women are subjected to.
Martial Science
Model Mugging® is martial science and not a martial art. Martial Science began when Matt did not return to the dojo. While finishing his last year at Stanford University, he researched over 2700 (later over 3000) assaults against women and spoke with numerous survivors. He discovered commonalities in the ways rapists attack women. He found that males attack females differently than they attack other males. Men will fight other men, but a male attacking a woman will normally throw her to the ground with the intent to degrade her through sexual acts. A man learns to fight from the standing position and is unaccustomed to fighting on the ground unless he has experience and training in ground fighting. When a rapist forces a woman onto the ground, he is not planning to fight her. His intentions are that of conquest and humiliation.
Padded Assailant trying to control self-defense student at the beginning of the fight.
Ironically, a woman is stronger when fighting from the ground because she can utilize the strongest parts of her body, her legs, and hips. A woman who fights a man from a standing position cannot realistically compete with his greater upper body strength. The average woman’s upper body strength is approximately 30% of that of the average man. Men are commonly taught to fight from a standing position, and even though many fights will end up on the ground, they will not be comfortable on the ground unless they are wrestlers or grapplers. If a woman is trained to fight on the ground, she can gain a significant advantage in the event of an attack.
While completing his education at Stanford, Matt Thomas double-majored in biology and psychology, earning both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in four years. He studied the most efficient ways to teach and synergized many of the principles of his instructors. He applied Albert Bandura’s Role Model Mastery of how to overcome the fear of snakes and flying to overcome the fear of combat. Dan Millman’s Peaceful Warrior approach to coaching is characterized by inspiration, joy, and laughter.
He utilized Colin Pittenridge’s Effective Animal Communication in conjunction with Karl Pribram’s Neurophysiology of Learning and Ernst Hilgard’s State Conditioned Learning, incorporating the application of adrenaline stress training. Then he incorporated Phillip Zimbardo’s Cognitive Dissonance on how to be a peaceful human or a fierce warrior when appropriate, as when defending against attack. Klaus Bensch’s rigorous applications of the Scientific Method for real-world applications. He structured the course after Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. Later, when attending Harvard Medical School, the process of David Shapiro’s Biofeedback in learning was implemented into the training.
Finishing his research, Matt transferred to Harvard University Medical School in 1972. He offered a self-defense class after a violent assault occurred on campus. He obtained permission to use the gym and offered the course to the student body. He immediately implemented the information he learned from studying assaults against women and applied modern instructional strategies in the format of the course, where he combined Eastern and Western methodologies. Matt has described the course as being a martial science course.
First generation Model Mugging padded assailant protective suit developed in 1972.
In his first course, Matt taught techniques based on how women are actually attacked, as well as developing empowerment through a role model mastery program. He taught women the counter techniques to the positions that rapists commonly place women in and the strategies necessary to stop an assailant. At the end of the course, he covered himself in primitive protective padding and tested each woman by attacking them to test their ability to defend themselves. They all failed!
The reasons these women failed were that they felt inhibited about hurting him. They felt uncomfortable about hitting because they were brought up with the mindset that “girls” are nice and do not hit or hurt people. Even though they were taught the proper techniques, most of them just froze in fear and were unable to overcome the “freeze response.” He extended the class and re-attacked the women, and they overcame their inhibitions and began responding effectively.
During the first fight at graduation, Matt was knocked unconscious. This demonstrated two key points: first, the fighting techniques were effective, and second, he needed better protective body armor. Through the years of teaching this revolutionary program, he was injured over forty times and knocked out twenty-two times. In the early 1980s, the program gained momentum and popularity.
Model Mugging involves much more than using a padded assailant. Building upon Matt Thomas’ initial research, Model Mugging continues to provide integrated criminal analysis for personal protection, utilizing the Five Principles of Self Defense.
Martial Arts Training Revolutionized
Matt led the way in developing a protective suit that is now referred to as the “padded assailant.” The modern equipment allows the male instructors to get up and walk away after each fight, uninjured. Injury is infrequent, considering the full-contact, devastating strikes instructors receive while teaching their students how to fight effectively. Not only is the equipment the best, but the training Model Mugging instructors receive in how to wear it properly reduces the chances of injury.
Full force knee the face of the Model Mugging padded assailant.
In the early 1980s, the synergy of efforts from other dedicated instructors improved and became instrumental in building the program. Matt’s martial arts students, David Brown and Jeff Adams were instrumental in developing the next generation of protective body armor. Jeff Adams and Kathy Adams introduced Matt to Sheryl Doran, who was really gifted at marketing our classes to the public, and they began to build significant public awareness for the program. Danielle Evans (now Danielle Smith) and Julio Toribio joined the team in the mid-1980s and developed the instructor training program.
Since the 1980s, Model Mugging concepts have been adopted by numerous martial arts groups, women’s self-defense programs, and law enforcement agencies worldwide. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” a famous quote by Charles Colton. Many instructors have indirectly complimented Matt Thomas by adopting his discoveries to enhance martial science, thereby improving human performance under the stress of danger and harm. Since the late 1980s, numerous other groups have begun copying the mock attacker and full-force/full-contact training.
Thomas’ revolutionized self-defense training has been documented in many articles beginning in 1978 with Human Behavior Magazine and an article, “Getting Tough About Rape.” Several other self-defense articles about Model Mugging in major magazines substantiate the claim that copycat or breakaway groups fail to give credit to the sacrifices and creativity of Model Mugging founder Matt Thomas.
Model Mugging self-defense student delivers a full force knee strike to the face of the padded assailant.
Scenario Based Self Defense, also known as Reality Based Self Defense (RBSD or RBMA), using a padded assailant is only one part of the martial science process. Various programs utilize reality-based self-defense and other methods, including protective body armor, to enhance performance in self-defense training. However, very few have conducted applied research on integrating the mind-body-spirit in teaching realistic self-defense. The difference in self-defense training programs is evident in the research that substantiates the curriculum, the durability of the equipment, and the skill of the instructors who teach the science behind the self-defense techniques.
Since 1971 rape prevention classes and crime prevention have evolved, but the origins and credit go to Matt Thomas’ innovative work in martial science!
Model Mugging Self Defense is currently based in Los Angeles County in Southern California.
Other links describing considerations when choosing a self-defense course for women: