| Many self defense experts make you believe that | | | | yourself. As Bruce Lee himself said, "Absorb what |
| you have to quit your traditional style in order to | | | | is useful, reject what is useless; and add |
| learn effective self defense. Even though using | | | | specifically what is your own". Practice, for self |
| traditional concepts only will lead your downfall in | | | | defense, only what you can use and nothing else. |
| the street, this is untrue. You merely need to | | | | In order to create a efficient and effective self |
| "translate" the older techniques into a modern | | | | defense system, you must spend an ample |
| format suitable for real world self defense. This | | | | amount of time studying real life self defense. Buy |
| sounds like a daunting task--and it can be to | | | | check-out books, watch documentaries, observe |
| close-minded martial artists--but it isn't as long as | | | | real fights recorded on the internet, and learn |
| you are willing to look beyond what you've | | | | from people who know what they are doing. This |
| already been taught to do. | | | | is the best way to really learn how to fight, and |
| The best way to keep on studying a traditional | | | | how to defend yourself realistically. Only when |
| martial art style but practice real self defense, is | | | | you do understand, are you liberated from |
| to create you own system. No: not a style that | | | | theory, and pass into the realm of true |
| you name, teach and promote. It is a personal | | | | investigation. What you find there may be hard to |
| expression more or less, like Bruce Lee's Jeet | | | | accept, but you will come to understand that |
| Kune Do philosophy. But even more than that it is | | | | combat is not what the movies and martial arts |
| a systematization that allows you to progress and | | | | demonstrations make it out to be. |
| mature as a defensive fighter; that keeps your | | | | When actually deciding what to include in your |
| self defense knowledge separate from your more | | | | system, you must adhere to a few rules. The |
| aesthetic, traditional knowledge. Now, I'm not | | | | first is that you use only simple and direct |
| saying that traditional martial arts are bad for self | | | | movements. Flashy and acrobatic kicks and hand |
| defense; on the contrary, I'm actually saying they | | | | strikes are dangerous. They will leave you off |
| are great for it--provided you know about real | | | | balance and are rarely successful in hurting your |
| self defense and how to use your style for it. | | | | opponent. You also have to keep everything |
| What I am saying is that your style isn't, and | | | | simple. In a real confrontation, you have only |
| cannot, teach you how to fight. Only a good | | | | gross motor functions, which means complex |
| teacher who does know and lots of research and | | | | techniques are almost impossible to preform on a |
| experience can get you that knowledge. | | | | dummy, much less a struggling, fighting person. |
| The first thing you need to understand is that | | | | Everything must be based off of instinct: direct, |
| your personal system is something that is grown, | | | | simple and gritty. They have to be trained on a |
| like an organism, not built. You start with one | | | | live, struggling partner in order to refine them for |
| guiding principle, one concept that defines your | | | | actual use. This is hard to accept, but its the |
| way of defense, and develop your system from | | | | reality of things. Anything else will get you hurt. |
| there through investigation, experimentation, and | | | | So, in closing, no, you do not have to quit learning |
| experience. All concepts should flow and fit with | | | | your traditional martial art style in order to learn |
| each other, but most importantly, they should | | | | effective self defense. Take techniques you've |
| adhere to the "nucleus" of your system (the | | | | learned from your art, the self defense you have |
| guiding principle I just told you about). The second | | | | studied separately, and put them together in |
| thing you need to understand, is that this system | | | | order to create a system for you to easily recall |
| is in no way "complete"; it is just what you need | | | | and use in a self defense situation. Practice it, and |
| to survive an attack and successfully defend | | | | you will be able to defend yourself in any situation! |