Are you serious about wanting to learn self defense – the kind of skills that will allow you to escape from an attacker who really wants to beat, break, or kill you? Effective street self-defense training is very different from what is typically being offered by the average martial arts, karate, or self defense class at the YMCA though.
Unfortunately, many students who get involved in martial arts or self protection classes with the intention to learn self defense, only end up being disappointed. They find out very quickly that what they are learning is either lessons for winning a trophy in a sporting contest loaded with rules, or…
…half-baked ideas from someone with absolutely no real-world self-defense experience whatsoever!
The problem with most self defense programs is that they focus almost entirely on technique, and not enough on teaching the student how to assess, control, and choose best options for specific encounters. If you are serious about developing skills that will allow you to survive a street attack, then you must learn self defense skills that go about step-by-step mechanics.
Here is a list of 5 considerations that your training must address for your self defense training system to be “street-ready,” and worth the time, effort, and money that your pouring into it:
1) The techniques are based on defending against modern attacks and attackers – not 16th century Chinese, Japanese, or Korean warriors! You must make sure that you’re self defense system is teaching you how to handle and survive against the most probable attacks that would be thrown at you TODAY – not hundreds of years ago!
2) Training is not limited to “classroom” or dojo (‘martial arts training hall’) study. Chances are that you’re not going to be in a wide open space, in loose-fitting clothes and bare-feet when an angry, aggressive, or criminal attacker decides to jump on you!
3) Training assumes that you will be the under-dog, and not the superior fighter. No matter how much skill and ability you have, you must assume that when an attacker chooses you, that he or she already has the advantage – whether it be in size, strength, speed, ability, weapons, or allies that you don’t know about!
4) Everything you do must at least consider the laws governing self-defense. If not, you may find yourself locked up instead of your attacker – charged with assault or murder – because you went too far!
5) Training must be “situational.” You should be learning “options.” You do not know who your attacker(s) will be, what the attack will look like, or where you will be, so you must train to handle as many situational contexts as possible!
Contrary to popular belief, or the sales messages being hyped up by so-called gurus online who are offering to teach you the ONE single move that will devastate any attacker – any time, the reality is that…
Effective self defense requires more than just a few “karate moves.” It involves the ability to think strategically, and understand how to defend yourself with as little wear-and-tear on you as possible.