Do you know the difference between a good self-defense teacher and a bad self-defense teacher?
A bad self-defense teacher makes fighting seem easy.
Don’t believe the hype! Fighting for your life is not easy. That’s why it’s called fighting.
In this video, I offer a reality check for anyone who has ever studied with a bad self-defense teacher. Let’s keep it real! 🙂
If the video doesn’t play, find a summary below.
How to Spot a Bad Self-Defense Teacher
Today, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that all those cool self-defense techniques that you see, and maybe even practice, are not as easy as to pull off in real life as you think.
The good news? I’ll get to that in a minute. But first, have you ever had a self-defense teacher who talked like this—
All right—he’s got you in a choke. No problem.
So, you’re facing multiple attackers. Just remember this one thing and you’ll win every time.
Okay—he’s got the knife up to your throat. You know, at this point, I almost feel sorry for the guy.
Crazy talk.
I’m sorry to say that there are martial artists out there who make fighting for your life appear as easy as licking an ice cream cone. These people are delusional whack-jobs.
The problem here is a fundamental lack of respect for a well-executed attack. This happens because a bad self-defense teacher practices choke escapes with someone who doesn’t know how to apply a proper choke. Or knife defenses against someone who doesn’t know how to fight with a knife.
If someone tells you that defending against a choke or a knife is easy, you can bet they’ve never been choked or knifed.
Time for a reality check. Want to know how to escape from a locked in guillotine?
There is no escape for a locked in guillotine!
That’s like asking, “How do you escape a full power punch to your jaw?” or “How do you escape a knife to the heart?”
Here’s the cold, hard truth— if you allow an attack to be finished, you’re finished. The only escape from a locked in guillotine or a knife to the heart is sweet death.
That’s why, if you’re smart, your self-defense training should be focused on preventing an attack, not escaping it. And how do you do prevent an attack? Simple—
FIGHT EARLY!
Take a look at this flowchart…
At the top, you’re alive and HAPPY, enjoying a sunny day…
But then TROUBLE starts. A bad guy heads your way…
You make a MISTAKE. You let him get too close or let your guard down…
The bad guy ATTACKS your mistake…
Now you’re TRAPPED.
Then you’re DEAD.
The danger of letting trouble gain momentum reminds me of an old joke in the martial arts…
What’s the best way to get out of a headlock?
I don’t know. What?
Don’t get in one!
I said it’s an old joke, not a good one. But the message is right on—
In self-defense, the earlier you start your escape, the better your chance of success.
That means, as soon as you see trouble coming, get out of there! As soon as you make a mistake, fix it! As soon as you feel yourself being pulled into a trap, break the trap!
That raises a question—how are you supposed to know which mistakes to fix? How can you know the best way to break a lock or escape a hold? Here’s the answer—
Learn how to attack!
If you want to know how to stop a guillotine, learn how to do a guillotine!
If you want to know how to defend against a knife attack, learn how to attack with a knife!
Practicing self-defense with a partner who doesn’t know how to attack is like practicing gun disarms on a 5-year-old kid with a squirt gun.
A good self-defense teacher respects the danger of a real attack enough to learn how to do it.
Learning how to attack comes with other rewards. By learning how to attack, you’ll also figure out how to sense that attack coming and how to stop it before it’s too late.
Why? Because you know firsthand what it takes to set up your technique and what it takes to finish it.
So, my advice for your self-defense training time is to focus on learning attacks before you try escaping them. If you don’t, and your attacker knows what he’s doing, your only escape from real danger will be an organ donor and a good surgeon.
Okay, that’s pretty harsh. Let me balance things out and give you the good news about self-defense…
The good news about self-defense is that most people are not trained fighters.
Not even close. That means if someone is crazy enough or drunk enough to attack you, the odds are very good that they’ll leave you an opportunity to work your Kung Fu magic. The only question is whether you’ll be ready to take it.
So, don’t let a bad self-defense teacher or anyone else tell you that fighting for your life is easy…
Train yourself to see trouble coming and fight to stop it before it’s too late.
Ossu! Oh! I’ve always felt there’s a bit of “disconnect” with the whole idea of learning how to get out of situations. Now I know – some self defense teachers don’t teach anything about what comes in between “Happy” and “Trapped.” I like it when I read about verbal de-escalation, or recognizing and not entering the “monkey dance.” I also never get tired of anyone preaching the common sense stuff that’s kept me safe for most of my life. Thanks for identifying what’s missing from a good many self defense seminars!
OSU to you, Jo!
Awareness, avoidance, assertiveness… all so important. And so is taking physical techniques apart so you can figure out how to render them ineffective. It’s just irresponsible when teachers show escapes from weak and/or improperly executed attacks!
Common sense ain’t so common! 🙂
Nice realistic video. I have the same approach when someone asks me to teach them self defense. I tell them they should work on sprinting, endurance running and situational awareness. I tell them that’s better than anything anyone can teach. I also advise to not do drugs so they can stay away from shady places, stay out of bars and don’t drink and that will make them safer too.
Then I get the deer in headlights look and the question “why train martial arts then?” Because it’s my journey in life and it’s what I love.
I’ve won 100% of the fights I avoided. It’s a proven technique that if you can avoid the fight, you win.
That’s a lot of great advice, Jason!
Then again, if I was certain I could avoid every fight, I would train in track and field instead of martial arts! As much I hope to escape danger, I also train to protect myself as a backup plan. I’m sure you do, too.
Thanks for the comment, sir! I hope your winning streak continues! 🙂