"The delivery system of all things functional, lives thrives and evolves from the conflict and relationship of open exchange and free exploration that necessity and the parameters of reality dictate and require."

Martial Arts are indeed diametrically opposed to Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics and usually do more so to harm the further development and evolution of Defensive Tactics than assist in the growing grassroots movement to improve, refine, and update them.

With that stated, it is the central and core belief of the ISR that what is actually needed is a "Martial Art" THAT IS Law Enforcement or better stated, a complete, unified, integrated, and living system that can be trained, translated, and readily transferred over to officers to spefically address the physical realities and threats they contend with regularly.

"Defensive Tactics can indeed be trained and implemented athletically as Law Enforcement's martial method and physical means to achieve their morally and legally bounded ends."

It has been our experience that the rules and regulations that Officers must serve and protect society by do not in any way hamper their ability to function effectively if they train specifically within those confines and do so with the best available tools and trainers to assist them. Combative Athletes and Martial Sportsmen do so daily throughout the world and though Officers need never be as physically fit as such competitors, the point here that mustn't be missed is that you can train and be competent within any given ruling structure given the incentives, parameters and methodology required to do so. In the case of Law Enforcement the first two points have always been rooted in officer safety & survival and legal competency and liability. Now with the advent of the ISR Matrix, the third point can finally be developed and flourish to complete the necessary and until now, missing link in the structure.

"Dynamic Application, Fluid Movement and Efficiency In Performance under stress" To apply, move, and perform under stress requires a vehicle or delivery system that allows just that, efficiency under duress. The ISR Matrix discovered early on that the best tested and proven physical means by which to impart measurable force as directly related to the force being encountered were to be found in the arenas that encountered and worked with just that, dealing with and overcoming varying degrees of resistance and pressure.

Its no coincidence that that though 99.9% of all the insights and material gathered and integrated by Luis and Paul came to being from actual training from the perspective of Law Enforcement against varying degrees of resistance from uncooperative training partners and subjects, their conceptual and defining results were identical to what they discovered in print from books published at the start of the twentieth century. Be they the premiere names and catalysts of military combatives such as W.E. Fairbairn., Rex Applegate, Dermot O'Neill or the original and fundamental defensive tactics of 50 years past, they all had one thing in common, a functional base and delivery system founded in Judo, wrestling and boxing. The delivery system was the foundation and focal point, the actual tactics were then secondary and to be determined by their particular fields of deployment and the rules of engagement therein.

The ISR Matrix therefore owes much of its approach and training principles to the combative sports, competitive martial arts, and the world wide athletics that continue to foster greater human potential, mutual welfare and fraternity through the controlled and regulated formats of organized competition. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Matt Thornton, the evolutionary coach who initially introduced and stressed both their historical and living relevancy to Luis Gutierrez and Paul Sharp. His guiding principle of "Aliveness" and instructional "I" method are part and parcel of the ISR Matrix.

Though it would now be extremely difficult to confuse or relate the ISR Matrix to any existing martial art or combative sport in appearance, what is clearly evident from anyone who has had the opportunity to train it is that works and works, adapts, and relates to all levels of resistance in a measurable and repeatable fashion; always and every time.
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The essential elements from Greco Roman Wrestling, Free Style Wrestling, Judo, Western Boxing, Muay Thai Kick Boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that originally went into the matrix years ago, are now due to training within the rules and regulations of law enforcement, so much a part of, intertwined and laced throughout the force continuum that trying to mark where combative sport ends and law enforcement tactics begins would be an intellectually painful lesson in futility.

The influences that make up the ISR Matrix are to be found in its guiding principles and training methods and are not visible but instead felt in its performance and expression. The ISR Matrix is now a living testament and modern representative of the initial vision, scope, and ideals of our Law Enforcement Pioneers and their tactics and training philosophies that they originally developed right alongside the functional training principles of combative sport and their athletic endeavors.