Are you serious about real-world self-defense training? Are you serious about learning how to win in a real attack against a larger, stronger attacker?
Perhaps you're already enrolled in a martial art or self-defense program. If you are, then I congratulate you on taking a critical step toward doing what most people never do. And that's actually taking responsibility for your own safety and the protection of those whom you care about.
If you haven't already enrolled in either a self-defense martial art, or non martial arts-based self-defense system, then my question is...
...What the hell are you waiting for?!
Remember that the nature of violence is that it's random - that means you don't know where, when, or how it's going to happen - and you don't know what it's going to look like. So, if you're the kind of person who spends most of your time surfing the Internet and filling up your hard drive with video clips, free ebooks, and articles like this one, but haven't yet taken the action necessary to actually have real skill, then reading another article, or watching another video is the last damned thing you need to be doing!
So, for the moment, I'm only going to be speaking to you if you actually have some training under your belt (pun intended!). I'm going to assume that if you're reading from this point on, you actually have some training experience to base your understanding of what I'm about to teach you.
Okay. That being said, I'm going to assume that you're ready for the next lesson. Which begins with me restating the questions...
"Are you engaged in real-world self-defense training?" And...
"Are you really learning how to win against a bigger, stronger, violent attacker who doesn't care about rules, fairness, or you're well-being?"
Be careful here, because ego is going to want to jump to the conclusion that, "Of course you are!" After all, if what you're doing wasn't right, you wouldn't be doing it. At least that's what ego's logic is.
But, the reality is that most students who believe they're enrolled in a self-defense martial art, or those studying one of those so called "ultimate-killer" self-defense courses being sold on the Internet today, are in fact "NOT" learning how to win against an enraged, fully-determined, street attacker.
They are however, learning to be overconfident, deluded, and unprepared.
And the reason for this is simply that they are trying to learn from someone - a martial arts teacher or self-defense instructor - who has absolutely no street experience in handling the kind of violence that you're going to have to deal with in an actual attack situation.
I understand that this is not something you may want hear, let alone believe. But that makes it no less true. In fact, at least 80% of those teaching self-defense or martial arts have no experience in using what they think they know in the real-world.
And, regardless of how much these instructors know, what color or number is behind their belts, or how many trophies they have displayed in their windows, without this real-world self-defense experience, they really can't help you very much at all.
And if you train with them - if you trust them - and if you put your life in their hands...
You're going to be in a situation where it's a case of the blind leading the blind.
But how do you know if what you're learning is designed for real-world self-defense? How do you know if you can trust the techniques, tactics, and strategies that you've been learning to work when you need them the most?
Well, instead of trying to force a point of view, I'm simply going to ask you a few questions that will allow you to determine, for yourself, whether you're on the right track are not. How does that sound?
So, regardless of whether ego wants to believe anything I say or not - regardless of how much ego wants to hold onto what it thinks it already knows, the answers to these questions will determine the truth.
Fair enough?
Self-Defense Program Assessment Questions:
1) Are you forced to conform to a set "style", or does your training leave room for variation, adaptation, and practical application?
2) Are you learning multiple options for handling the same types of attacks? Or is everything based on the same block-punch/kick (or whatever) formula?
3) Are you training to defend against the attacks that are the most common today, where you live; or are you learning to defend yourself against attacks from 13th, 14th, or 16th century Japan, China, or Korea?
4) Have you been taught things like "attacker psychology," "controlling distance," "controlling your attacker's perceptions," and the "effective use of timing, distancing, and angling?" Or, do you spend most of your time practicing step-by-step, mechanical techniques and the official kata of the style you're learning?
5) Does your system of self-defense or martial arts take into account the size and strength difference between you and your potential attacker? Or, are you always matched up based on size, gender, and/or belt color?
6) Are you learning how to use your different emotional states as the hardwired, defensive modes that they are? In other words, are you learning how to defend yourself from the different emotional response states that you might find yourself in when you're actually faced with real danger?
As you can see, my job is not to force you to believe in whatever it is the I'm teaching. My job is to teach you what I know about actually surviving a real-world attack against a bigger, stronger, and more violent attacker. And, later on, against multiple attackers, assailants armed with different weapons, and other advanced subjects.
If what you're already learning is doing that, then keep doing what you're doing. If it isn't, it's my job to suggest some other options.
But either way, you need understand that your safety and self defense is your responsibility. Not mine, or anyone else's.
It's my job to make sure that what I'm teaching you is time-tested and will work against a real attacker, during a real attack - not just in the classroom or dojo. And it's my responsibility to understand that you're placing your trust, and your life, in my hands until you're actually able to do this for yourself. That's all.
The real work is to be done by you. And that includes making sure that you're getting what you need. Because, as I said, your life depends on it.
So again, if you're really serious about learning real-world self-defense and learning how to survive - learning how to win - then you owe it to yourself to be honest when answering the above questions and to take the correct action, regardless of how it feels or what ego thinks. Period!
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.
If you really want to know what most people don't know about how to master self defense and how to survive a real street attack, read my newest self defense book: "Fight Smarter - Not Harder!" It's available free at: http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com/street-fighting-self-defense-book.html
Jeffrey M. Miller is an internationally-known self defense expert. Each month he teaches literally thousands of students through live seminars, corporate training events, and his online self defense courses, the lessons to be able to survive in Today's often dangerous world.
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