Look through the local yellow pages and you’d be convinced that every martial arts club in your city is teaching self-defense...but are they? This article is designed to help the neophyte make an informed decision when looking for practical self-defense training.
Unfortunately, most of the schools mentioned are NOT teaching self-defense. They want you to think they are because they know, as we do, that self-protection is the primary reason people look to join a martial arts school.
So, aren’t all schools created equal...if they’re doing martial arts isn’t the stuff I learn going to work in a street fight? More on that in a minute-but the simple answer is no. To begin with, most of the schools tend to teach diluted, sports-oriented versions of their original arts. Judo is the Olympic sport version of Ju-jutsu. Aikido is the (very) diluted form of Aiki-jutsu, and Tae Kwan Do is now an Olympic sport. Boxing and wrestling-the West’s contribution to unarmed combatives-are both Olympic sports as well. Sport versions are safe to practice and they do that by eliminating dangerous techniques. In the real self-defense versions, it’s the dangerous techniques we’re concerned with.
There’s also a lot of fuss about Brazilian Ju-jutsu and/or grappling and mixed martial arts. The exponents of those arts are very good at what they do, but grappling on the ground is extremely dangerous in the street with multiple attackers the norm rather than the exception. And the MMA guys are still training for a sporting event; they have no element of surprise knowing in advance who and when they’ll be fighting, they have little risk of dying because they’re in superb physical shape, and there are doctors in attendance. There are weight divisions, one opponent, and no weapons involved-as well as people to stop it if it gets out of hand.
To help you make an informed decision when choosing where to learn self-defense, begin by asking yourself the following questions:
IS IT A SPORT?
Some arts are automatically sports. Judo, Boxing, and Tae Kwan Do are good examples of this, as they’re in the Olympics. To be sports they have to be safe. To be safe they have to remove dangerous techniques, and unfortunately they’re the ones you’re going to need in self-defense. If the school has a window full of trophies it’s a fair bet they’re more into sports versions than the real deal.
DO THEY PUNCH TARGETS/PEOPLE?
If your art is going to be successful in the street you have to be hitting objects full-power right from the get-go. Standing round punching air and sparring people while standing a safe distance away isn’t going to prepare you for a real fight.
IS IT STRESSFUL?
Real training should almost be intimidating. Why? Because street fights, car jackings, and home invasions are stressful. If you’re not training under those conditions, your training isn’t preparing you for what will happen in the real world.
DO THEY PRACTICE AGAINST MORE THAN ONE PERSON?
Training to fight one person as they do in boxing, judo, grappling, etc., isn’t preparing you for the far more common gang attack. Dueling went out in the 1800s. Today, the likelihood that you’ll fight one-against-one is slim.
ARE THE ATTACKS THEY LEARN TO DEFEND AGAINST REALISTIC?
Learning how to defend yourself against a spinning back kick is important in Tae Kwan Do, but in a street fight, you’re much more likely to be head-butted. In Aikido schools, attacks are largely telegraphic and there is no fighting on the ground or getting out of holds like full nelsons or headlocks. In my Fight Survival Training (FIST) program, instructors have worked security at the sharp end and know full well the sort of attacks street fighters are likely to launch-and so we train accordingly.
DO THEY PRACTICE SOMETIMES WEARING STREET CLOTHES?
In FIST, you wear your regular street clothes every now and then so you practice fighting in what you’d actually have to fight in. Wardrobe can make a huge difference. High kicks don’t work so well in tight jeans and leather-soled shoes.
DO THEY PRACTICE IN THE DARK?
At FIST we practice once a month in a darkened room. Ask yourself this...are most attacks you hear about on the news at night in parking decks, parks, and on the streets, etc., or inside brightly lit buildings with padded floors?
DO THEY TEACH YOU IMPROVISED WEAPONS?
The first rule in self-protection is to try and arm yourself. There is no such thing as a fair fight-your attacker will probably be armed or have friends or both. (Remember, they’re predators and they always stack the odds in their favor.) Weapons are equalizers and you must know how to use what’s at hand. Wielding a wooden sword may look impressive, but it’s unlikely you’ll have it with you during an attack.
ARE THEIR KNIFE AND GUN DISARMS REALISTIC?
Most schools teach very cool looking techniques that they haven’t thought through. For example, the wrist throw from the pistol in the face routine doesn’t take into account the person pulling the trigger as you whip their hand through a 180-degree arc. Those bullets will hit innocent people standing by and you’ll probably be liable for any injuries or death thus incurred. And here’s another clue-if they’re not teaching defenses against the close range "prison pump" where the perpetrator gets in kissing range and pumps his blade into your abdomen multiple times in a few seconds, then it’s not likely to stand you in good stead in the street.
DO THEY ALSO TEACH TACTICS AND MINDSET?
A lot of schools teach a whole collection of techniques. Ways to punch, kick and throw, etc., all of which are completely useless if they haven’t taught you tactics and mind-set to go with it. In other words, having a gun (technique) is no good if you don’t have the tactical awareness to take cover in a gun fight and the mind set to be able to point it at someone and actually pull the trigger.
CAN YOU LEARN THE INDIVIDUAL TECHNIQUES IN THIRTY MINUTES OR LESS?
If a technique is complicated or takes more than thirty minutes to learn, your chances of pulling it off under the stress of combat is very slim. So, if the instructor is telling you it will take several years to reach black belt level then, it’s probably not going to be very useful in self-defense unless you’ve been at it for more than 10 years.
DOES THE INSTRUCTOR KNOW WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT?
A lot of instructors claim to teach self-defense and yet the last fight they were ever in was back in pre-school in a fight over the sand bucket. Your instructor should at least be a first generation student of someone who’s worked in law enforcement, as a night club bouncer, or fought on the street in some capacity in the last few years. Trends amongst street fighters change constantly. By being out on the street the instructor will be abreast of those changes. For example, criminals in some states are now using super glue to restrain victims, as opposed to the duct tape that they used to use. If you’re carrying round scissors or a blade, ready for the duct tape you’ll be out of luck.
IS THE TRAINING HARD AND INTIMIDATING?
If it is, that’s good. If not, it’s not preparing you for combat. Look at the armed forces. They’ve had thousands of years to learn how best to prepare people for battle, which is why boot camp is hard and intimidating. That process steels you for combat. Realistic training produces real fighters. That’s what we try and do in FIST, and that’s what you should expect in an adequate self-defense training program.
DO THEY TEACH EVERY ASPECT OF FIGHTING?
Are they teaching you to punch, kick, grapple, throw, use weapons, and shoot, etc.? Too many schools focus on only one aspect of combat (e.g., Judo doesn’t teach strikes; boxing doesn’t teach how to fight on the floor, get out of holds, or kick).
ARE YOU COUNTING ON A GUN TO SAVE YOU?
A lot of ignorant people assume because they have a pistol and a permit to carry they’re safe and don’t need to learn how to fight unarmed. That’s a very bad assumption to make since there are more places you can’t legally carry than can-firearms are off limits on school property, in government buildings, airports, banks, and anywhere that sells alcohol. Also, a gun is for killing. You can’t restrain anyone with a gun, or scale down your response depending on how you’ve been attacked. Plus, there’s the reality of the 21 foot rule to consider: it has been proven that if someone is within 21 feet of you and you have a holstered weapon, they’ll get to you before you can draw it, hit them, and stop them.
