Unique to Protect self defence in NZ, Senshido's Shredder concept was discovered and developed by Richard Dimitri through comparison between real fights and how they were executed, through scenario replications with no consent performed in real time/real speed and the examination of performance in these situations by trained martial artists and untrained people as well. Another factor of its development were the instant reactions the Shredder had on those it was used on, even at its development stage. The reaction was always the same, instant panic with the inherent attempts at defensive disengagement. Something occurred on a psychological level, it wasn't just the reception of pain but a complete predator to prey shift.

Senshido's physical retaliation principles dictated its path. We have 5 principles of physical retaliation, they are (in no particular order)

1. Economy of motion
2. Non telegraphic movement
3. Opportunity striking
4. Tactile sensitivity
5. Primary target acquisition.

These principles dictated that when striking, it was logical to make sure that the time frame between strikes was as short as possible in order to offer your opponent less of a chance to reflexively & defensively react to the attack. Because the startle to flinch response is a reliable physiological process that acts as an effective protective mechanism (we utilise it in terms of a launching pad off an ambush or surprise attack), it was deemed necessary to come up with a retaliatory concept that bypassed this phenomenon. 

Real violence will more often than not begin with an attack on the mind which triggers an emotional response. Our survival mechanism is connected to what is called the autonomic nervous system; this system controls all voluntary and involuntary functions. It is also divided into two systems, one being the parasympathetic nervous system and the other being the sympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the one that controls our actions and thoughts in non stressful environments. It controls fine motor skills, cognitive processing and a host of other functions related; however when threat is perceived, the sympathetic nervous system takes over which triggers the survival mechanisms or 'fight or flight' response. The release of adrenaline by the sympathetic nervous system increases blood flow and arterial pressure causing a large amount of blood to be pumped into the larger muscles resulting in gross motor functions and applications.

The sympathetic nervous system hinders the functional use of cognitive processing, visual performance and fine motor skills. Modern scientific research and studies have shown us that under the influence of the sympathetic nervous system, only gross motor skills are performed optimally. Consequently, the ambush or immediate threat introduced quickly and with minimal or no prior warning will trigger the sympathetic nervous system. Understanding that these physiological rules preside during high stress situations, these scientific facts became the corner stone for the concept of the Shredder.

For starters, each tool used had to be based on gross motor applications due to the very fact that the cognitive brain's overriding by the mid brain restricted access to finer motor skills found in most martial arts. Therefore the tools had to be instinctual and primal in nature but simply fine tuned in a way that allowed its delivery to be more acute than if one were to 'just go berserk'. The 'beat' in between the delivery of each strike had to be shortened from the traditional 'half beat' to a quarter beat, meaning, the time frame in between each tool finding its intended target was much shorter and therefore quicker than, for example, the usual jab/cross combo in boxing.

Although a real fight is arrhythmic in nature, it still functions in 'beats', a frame of time between blows/strikes. The very nature of the retraction of a tool (fist/foot/knee/elbow etc) creates a beat as the time frame between each strike triggers the 'victim's' amygdala (a small almond shaped portion of the brain which triggers the protective/defensive flinch) to kick into action creating a defensive reflexive response. You see it in murder victims, defensive wounds in the hands and arms. The reason being is there was a time frame there regardless of the speed of the attack which permitted the victim's arms to reflexively come up and instinctively protect the vitals (eyes, throat, facial area, head etc).

This 'primal regression' to gross motor skills we speak of and a lack of cognitive processing is a choice-less choice. We cannot cognitively process this response and choose to adopt it. Much like when driving a car, if a child or a dog all of a sudden jumped 5 to 10 feet in front of your moving vehicle, you do not have time to process this information. Your brain and body takes care of that for you, the stimulus is introduced too quickly and the startle to flinch response kicks in causing you to swerve out of the way while hitting the brakes as hard as you can hopefully missing the child and not killing them. Only once the situation is over do we regain access to cognitive thought process and realise what just happened and we feel the sudden blood rushing into our feet, the heart palpitations and the realisation that we almost killed someone. We cannot choose to regress to that state; it is an automatic hard wired process.

It has been our experience that an untrained individual will pick up on the Shredder concept and tool much quicker and with greater ease than a trained fighter. The reason being is that the majority of martial art systems and styles are based on muscle memory and technical skills that are primarily launched by the frontal lobe of the brain which is the cognitive control center if you will.

As previously stated, we are already hard wired to survive and martial arts in general work against this natural physiological and biological process. A gap is created between what our bodies instinctually want to do and the new information that was introduced to it through our martial training. So an untrained individual adapts to the Shredder concept much quicker than a trained person would because there is no prior interference. A martial artist will try to use a fine motor skill delivery system for a gross motor tool; modern research shows that it simply cannot be done until the brain no longer perceives threat or imminent danger and adopts a predatory mind set.

What makes this approach so different to conventional striking or 'dirty tactics' such as the eye gouge or the throat strike etc is that striking requires three integral elements to make it functional:

1. Distance
2. Grounding
3. Torque

These three elements require proper positioning, strength & athleticism to a certain degree, as well as clarity in the moment; a luxury, as stated above, we do not possess when facing threat and danger. The Shredder requires neither of these elements. It can be applied in any close quarter position, whether lying down, while falling (being taken down), at extreme close range etc. It's comprised of tools that create maximum damage with minimal effort. Its uniqueness is to be found in its delivery and the science that backs its success.

Conventional methods of attack are all so common that through the media, the martial arts, being exposed to real fights, entertainment etc that we have come to accept and expect a certain 'way' of fighting. We are to a certain extent, desensitised and so our minds are somewhat 'prepared' for a certain assault, a certain beat in rhythm, etc. Conventional methods are designed for distance tactics (kicks, punches, elbows, knees, head butts etc), or grappling tactics (clinch, takedowns, submissions etc). What makes a grappler so devastating is the fact that a striker no longer has the range, torque or grounding to make his strikes effective enough to intercept or hurt the grappler. Therefore everyone figured, correctly might we add, that they needed to learn to grapple as well. The Shredder however works best in extreme close quarter situations, especially the dreaded clinch. The closer to the opponent you are the better. The Shredder is the equaliser, or as it has been referred to by most of those who have been exposed to it as "The missing link in martial arts/self defence training".

The advantage of the Shredder is that it is a concept and tool that can be used by one and all regardless of age, gender, size or athletic ability. Although this comes across as a 'marketing ploy', be assured, it isn't. The very nature of the Shredder's foundation is physiological, psychological and behavioral. It is 'user friendly' and requires no memorisation of techniques, no necessity of repetitive training, no need for high levels of athleticism and is in accordance with the mind and body's physiological rules. This offers enormous value and is a tremendous asset to any teaching and training curriculum as it can only pragmatically enhance a person's survival skills. Hundreds of people world wide have successfully used the Shredder to survive violent confrontations.