5 Self Defense Facts Dojo Masters and Other Gurus Don’t Understand, and How This Can Hurt You
Knowing them can save your life.
The martial arts training that you or someone you know is receiving in a dojo somewhere is not the kind of training that will save your life in a fight or heist.
Don’t think for a minute that being a black belt in ‘xyz’ will help you defend yourself in a violent confrontation.
This is why:
1. Martial artists train by rules. Rule number one in street fighting and self defense is SURVIVE. Rule number two is no rules! This is not a joke.
2. The sophisticated techniques used in many martial arts. They require fine motor skills and don’t work in a street fight (although they can be amazing to watch in an exhibition match).
If you get caught in a street fight, you will experience an adrenaline rush, which means that everyone except the most experienced street fighter will lose fine motor skills (I’m not calling you a scared cat, it’s just human physiology).
This means that the graceful parliament to lock the joints to launch the technique you learned is not going to happen. And when it doesn’t, you will probably freeze.
3. The average street fight lasts 3-5 seconds. This means that your first few hits should deal enough damage to end the fight quickly. If yours doesn’t, the stats say your opponent’s will.
The spin involved in a flying roundhouse kick is a waste of time and you should not rely on these movements to defend yourself.
4. Most martial arts train you to fight an assailant. In the real world, attackers often have friends and will not have any “code of honor.”
If you don’t understand this, you can kick your head if you foolishly decide to take a fight to the ground.
5. Finally, many ‘dojo masters’ and ‘gurus’ actually believe that martial artists win street fights. The fact is, countless martial artists have had their butts kicked or worse in real-world street fights.
Being a black belt does not mean you know the smart street fighting skills that can save you or the life of a loved one. I believe that the facts noted above clarify this point.
Knowledge is a weapon.
Well, why am I telling you this? Well, I think knowing how violent confrontations actually happen in real life is one of the biggest advantages you can have in a street fight or in a self defense situation.
These five facts are some of the most important things to know, but the complete list is much longer. You should take this list very seriously. It may sound simple, but this was not easy to solve (just ask any street fighter how many fights it took him to solve).
If you’re like me, you’d rather skip the school of hard knocks (and broken bones) and figure this out ahead of time.
I’ve spent the last 18 years investigating real street fights through police reports, real street fights accidentally caught on (unorganized) security cameras, and interviewing street fighters and gorillas who deal with these things every day.
Why did i do this? Well, when it comes to my personal safety and the safety of my family, I refuse to rely on trial and error. I don’t like to leave things to chance.