Choosing the right self defense school is a big decision, one which you should not make lightly. When it comes to your personal safety the stakes are pretty high. The problem is many people don't know what to look for in a self defense school.
For this you need an expert who has insider knowledge of the self defense industry and can tell you who to trust and who is just looking to take your money and teach you worthless moves.
I've been working in the self defense industry for two decades so I know self defense pretty well. I know exactly what to look for and what to watch out for when you are researching self defense schools.
Here is a list of things to look for in self defense schools:
An Experienced Instructor: Look for an instructor who has military, law enforcement, or bar bouncing experience. These guys have tons of experience dealing with violent, angry people just the kind of experience you need.
Small class sizes where sparring is emphasized: Huge classes where you spend hours punching the air and looking in a mirror will do little to train you for a real life conflict.
A focus on real world scenarios not useless rituals and formalities: The rituals and formalities of many martial arts are great if you are looking for a hobby, not if you are interested in defending yourself.
A focus on taking aggressive action: Blocking doesn't win conflicts. Self defense should really be called self-offense. You should train to recognizes the signs of a coming conflict and how to avoid or end it as quickly as possible.
A focus on techniques that are short and simple: Complex joint locks and high flying kicks rarely work outside of the dojo (this is why Bruce Lee stripped down his martial art into simple, to the point, and brutally effective moves).
What to avoid when you are researching Self Defense Schools:
Avoid programs that take years to complete: it doesn't take more than a few months to learn the basics of self defense. Don't get sucked into a program where you spend months on end doing constant repetition of simple blocks etc. If you aren't sparring within a month look into other self defense schools.
Avoid instructors whose only experience is learning martial arts from another master: These guys may be masters of an art, but unless they have put the rubber to the road in real life combat situations their art will be of little use to you.
Of course you don't need to attend a self defense school to learn how to defend yourself. If you live in a rural area with no access to a self defense or martial arts studio or if you just can't stomach spending hundreds of dollars on training you can still learn self defense from a DVD training course.
Jumat, 25 Agustus 2017
Senin, 14 Agustus 2017
Self-Defense Training - What's The Best Hand-To-Hand Close-Quarter Combat System?
Are you serious about learning effective, real-world and street-ready self-defense?
Maybe you've taken a few classes, or actually enrolled in a martial art or self-defense program.
Or, maybe you're like one of the countless students around the world who are going the "self-taught" route and learning from dvds, books, online video training, or even from articles just this one.
Regardless of how or where you train, if you've been doing your "homework," and trying to gather as much information about what it takes to actually be able to survive a real attack on the streets of today's often dangerous world, you probably have a few questions regarding the different approaches, programs, theories, or systems being offered both on and off the internet.
One of the most common questions that I get from students and prospective students who are serious about getting the most effective training they can find is...
"What do think about "XYZ" system or martial art?" Or, said another way... "Which martial art or close-quarter-combat self-defense system is the best?"
Now, they really don't ask about an art or system called "XYZ." I wrote that to act in place of any number of hand-to-hand and close quarter combat fighting systems. That means that you could replace my "XYZ" with an martial art, including:
Ninjutsu or Ninpo-Taijutsu (the self-defense system of Japan's ancient Ninja families)
Jujitsu
Aikijujutsu (one of the unarmed combat arts of the Samurai)
Tae kwon do
etc.
It could also replace any number of self-defense systems like:
Krav maga
Systema
EDR (Emotion-based Defensive Response)
etc.
** Please note that, contrary to popular belief, MMA is not a self-defense system, but rather a "form" of competitive, sport fighting. Just like boxing, collegeate wrestling, or judo, I would never say that these pratitioners cannot defend themselves - only that what they practice, because of the rules, weight classes, etc., was not designed for street fighting and self-defense. **
I think you get the picture.
Either way... this article serves to answer that question in much the same way that I typically respond to it each time I hear it. And it is that... I believe that all training has its merits. The trick is to know what to use and what not to use from any given martial art or self-defense system.
That being said, I tend to avoid discussing any given system, but rather spend my time discussing the principles, concepts, and best practices that any good combat system should have for it to be useful for today's dangerous world. That way, you can gauge any system's value on your own by comparing it to the combat principles that I, and many other qualified experts, talk about.
Again, I believe that there are just as many skilled and successful practitioners who are experts in their own rights at different types of martial arts and self-defense systems, as there are different systems themselves.
Unfortunately, many beginner students (and even teachers) - those who really don't know what to look for - try to judge one system against another solely on techniques, skills, and what "looks" like it would be effective. I say "unfortunately," because there is much more to physical self-defense and combat than merely the physical, step-by-step techniques or so-call "karate kata" (empty-hand forms) - more than what you can "see."
To give you just a small example about these "invisible" secrets that you must be proficient with if you are going to rely on anything more than luck if you;re going to survive a severe, life-threatening attack from a determined attacker who wants to beat, break or kill you, I'll list a few of them here.
These include: strategic positioning, projection of your own intention (or not); picking up on your assailant's intention (before and during his attack); using his own emotions and strategy against him, assessing what type of fighter he is or training he may have simply by the way he moves; assessing his strengths and limitations based on the environment, the clothing he's wearing, his size and build, and so much more.
And don't forget that this also includes probably "the" single biggest factor in whether you can learn what you need to in "any" system. And that is the background, level of understanding, and real-world experience of the instructor - the person in who's hands you place your life, until you become an expert yourself!
So... as you can see by my description above... to truly gauge a system's validity, you need to know more than what the system's techniques "look like."
If you are one of the countless thousands who simply want to know, "which one is best," I know that this doesn't directly answer your question but, you see, I give the same kind of answer about the art of Ninjutsu - the art that I teach. I tell students and other all the time that I don't believe that Ninjutsu is the only "best" self-defense system out there. I DO however, believe that it gives the practitioner many more options than practically any other program or system that I have ever encountered. And, any combat-hardened veteran, or close-quarter combat and self-defense expert with real-world street self-defense experience will tell you... the number of choices and options you have, significantly increases your chances of being successful (read: "surviving") in any situation.
Even with the martial art of Ninjutsu, just as with almost any other, you still have the teacher's understanding and experience level, and other factors - including the ones that I discussed earlier - which determine whether what you are learning, is anything near what you'll need to be the survivor in a real-world attack.
Do you understand?
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.
Maybe you've taken a few classes, or actually enrolled in a martial art or self-defense program.
Or, maybe you're like one of the countless students around the world who are going the "self-taught" route and learning from dvds, books, online video training, or even from articles just this one.
Regardless of how or where you train, if you've been doing your "homework," and trying to gather as much information about what it takes to actually be able to survive a real attack on the streets of today's often dangerous world, you probably have a few questions regarding the different approaches, programs, theories, or systems being offered both on and off the internet.
One of the most common questions that I get from students and prospective students who are serious about getting the most effective training they can find is...
"What do think about "XYZ" system or martial art?" Or, said another way... "Which martial art or close-quarter-combat self-defense system is the best?"
Now, they really don't ask about an art or system called "XYZ." I wrote that to act in place of any number of hand-to-hand and close quarter combat fighting systems. That means that you could replace my "XYZ" with an martial art, including:
Ninjutsu or Ninpo-Taijutsu (the self-defense system of Japan's ancient Ninja families)
Jujitsu
Aikijujutsu (one of the unarmed combat arts of the Samurai)
Tae kwon do
etc.
It could also replace any number of self-defense systems like:
Krav maga
Systema
EDR (Emotion-based Defensive Response)
etc.
** Please note that, contrary to popular belief, MMA is not a self-defense system, but rather a "form" of competitive, sport fighting. Just like boxing, collegeate wrestling, or judo, I would never say that these pratitioners cannot defend themselves - only that what they practice, because of the rules, weight classes, etc., was not designed for street fighting and self-defense. **
I think you get the picture.
Either way... this article serves to answer that question in much the same way that I typically respond to it each time I hear it. And it is that... I believe that all training has its merits. The trick is to know what to use and what not to use from any given martial art or self-defense system.
That being said, I tend to avoid discussing any given system, but rather spend my time discussing the principles, concepts, and best practices that any good combat system should have for it to be useful for today's dangerous world. That way, you can gauge any system's value on your own by comparing it to the combat principles that I, and many other qualified experts, talk about.
Again, I believe that there are just as many skilled and successful practitioners who are experts in their own rights at different types of martial arts and self-defense systems, as there are different systems themselves.
Unfortunately, many beginner students (and even teachers) - those who really don't know what to look for - try to judge one system against another solely on techniques, skills, and what "looks" like it would be effective. I say "unfortunately," because there is much more to physical self-defense and combat than merely the physical, step-by-step techniques or so-call "karate kata" (empty-hand forms) - more than what you can "see."
To give you just a small example about these "invisible" secrets that you must be proficient with if you are going to rely on anything more than luck if you;re going to survive a severe, life-threatening attack from a determined attacker who wants to beat, break or kill you, I'll list a few of them here.
These include: strategic positioning, projection of your own intention (or not); picking up on your assailant's intention (before and during his attack); using his own emotions and strategy against him, assessing what type of fighter he is or training he may have simply by the way he moves; assessing his strengths and limitations based on the environment, the clothing he's wearing, his size and build, and so much more.
And don't forget that this also includes probably "the" single biggest factor in whether you can learn what you need to in "any" system. And that is the background, level of understanding, and real-world experience of the instructor - the person in who's hands you place your life, until you become an expert yourself!
So... as you can see by my description above... to truly gauge a system's validity, you need to know more than what the system's techniques "look like."
If you are one of the countless thousands who simply want to know, "which one is best," I know that this doesn't directly answer your question but, you see, I give the same kind of answer about the art of Ninjutsu - the art that I teach. I tell students and other all the time that I don't believe that Ninjutsu is the only "best" self-defense system out there. I DO however, believe that it gives the practitioner many more options than practically any other program or system that I have ever encountered. And, any combat-hardened veteran, or close-quarter combat and self-defense expert with real-world street self-defense experience will tell you... the number of choices and options you have, significantly increases your chances of being successful (read: "surviving") in any situation.
Even with the martial art of Ninjutsu, just as with almost any other, you still have the teacher's understanding and experience level, and other factors - including the ones that I discussed earlier - which determine whether what you are learning, is anything near what you'll need to be the survivor in a real-world attack.
Do you understand?
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.
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