| Do you have martial arts experience? Have you | | | | then you are not developing the critical skills you'll |
| taken a self defense training program or two, but | | | | need to survive! If you aren't learning to apply the |
| know that there is a difference between what | | | | skills your getting in a chaotic, free-response, and |
| you've learned and a real fight? | | | | stressful way, then what you're doing is really not |
| I understand completely. Because, before I got | | | | self defense training! |
| this area of my life figured out, I was in the | | | | 2. Coddling. While your self defense training should |
| exact same place. | | | | be relatively safe, your instructor should not be |
| When I was a police officer, I and my fellow | | | | coddling you and telling you how great you are. He |
| officers would joke that, when it came to our | | | | should also not have to deal with whining, |
| self-defense training, we were "graduates of | | | | complaining, or other nonsense about you're not |
| Thursday's class at 3 o'clock!" And, police officer | | | | wanting to do certain skills for whatever reason. |
| or not, we need to know that what we're getting | | | | You either want to be able to defend yourself |
| from our self defense training will give us the | | | | against a brutal attacker who doesn't care about |
| necessary tools, and maybe more importantly - | | | | you, or you want to look good and show off! |
| the confidence - for actually succeeding in a | | | | 3. Emotionally-sterile. One of the most important |
| real-life violent attack! | | | | missing elements from most martial arts and self |
| Here's a self defense tip that I used to get what | | | | defense training courses is emotion. The reality is |
| I needed: I looked at what I was learning and | | | | that, a self defense situation is a highly-charged - |
| compared that with what I actually experienced in | | | | highly emotional experience. It is one of the most |
| a self defense situation against real attackers. | | | | emotional situations you could ever find yourself |
| Then, and here's what you have to do as well... | | | | in. |
| I found teachers that could give me what I | | | | And yet, the majority of time in most training is |
| needed to survive! | | | | spent on step-by-step training and theory - not |
| But, how do you know if the self defense training | | | | learning how to operate under certain types of |
| you're getting is right? | | | | psycho-emotional stress - each type limiting your |
| Here are several differences between | | | | body in very specific ways! |
| conventional martial arts training and most | | | | If you really want to survive a real-life attack, |
| so-called self defense programs. If the self | | | | then you must find a self defense training |
| defense training that you're getting overly focuses | | | | program that will give you the tools you will need! |
| on these elements... run! | | | | You must learn things you never wanted to |
| 1. Pre-staged training. Technique training is | | | | know, do things most people don't want to have |
| important, but if everything you're doing involves | | | | to do, and experience things that will scare you, |
| step-by-step, memorized strings of moves with | | | | unnerve you, and make you feel uncomfortable! |
| no allowance for variations or drills for creative | | | | But then, you know what your other choice is, |
| response and decision-making under pressure, | | | | right? And he's waiting out there for you! |