by Damian Ross
Founder, The Self Defense Company

It doesn’t matter where your self defense “comes from” – whether it’s endorsed by the MUSSAD or SEAL TEAM SIX – once you cut through the marketing and the hype, there are really only three things you care about:

1. Will this Self Defense work for you. 
2. Will this Self Defense work when you’re attacked.
3. How fast will it take you to learn.

Forget trying to be the “best” there’s literally no such thing. You’re never going to be the TOUGHEST person on the planet – but the good news is you don’t have to be.

An assault is not a title fight. It’s one person trying to impose their will over another  based on a simple RISK-BENEFIT analysis. 

In most cases when you resist, there will come a point when your attacker feels it’s just not worth it and break contact.

Because of that, you can protect yourself with a high degree of efficiency and success that will enable you to survive. Literally millions of people do it every year with little or no training at all. So the idea that you need to spend years learning this is preposterous. 

After all, self defense is an instinct of every living creature on the planet, so it shouldn’t be that complicated.

To help you determine whether or not a self defense is any good, we’ve created 12 simple criteria to help you.

The 12 Criteria of Self Defense

1. Will it work in fight or flight when your Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is activated. When you honestly believe that you’re life is TRULY in danger, your SNS kicks in and prepares you for battle. Among the many things that happen, you will lose control of your fine motor skills and cognitive thought – AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. It’s hardwired into your DNA to put you into battle mode. This means if you have to PAUSE and THINK about what self defense move you’re going to do – it won’t work and anything more complicated than swinging a bat, kicking a ball, running or crawling will won’t work either. Self defense must be extremely simple for it to work for real.
2. Systems that are based on combat sports should be avoided. Judo, wrestling, MMA, BJJ, boxing or any other sport that has been modified for the street should be avoided because these require a certain level of expertise in the base art before you can use the modifications. That means, if you were to use MMA for the street, you would first need to know some degree of MMA, which requires TIME, ATHLETICISM and a certain level of fitness. In addition, combat sports are based on a specific style or rules that will confine you to that particular style, even in self defense situations.
3. It must work in any environment.
   Most systems are practiced in gyms on mats or clear floors. Unfortunately the world isn’t like that. Right now, you probably can’t move ten feet in any direction without hitting a wall, a piece of furniture or a change in elevation. There’s ice, sand, mud, rock, concrete, broken glass and anything you can imagine that will tear you up. Would you really want to choose to grapple on broken glass or wrestle in an icy parking lot? Of course not – but chances are that’s where you’re going to have to defend yourself so you better prepare in a manner that considers this reality.
4. You will be ALONE against an attacker who is BIGGER, STRONGER, ARMED and has FRIENDS.
   Any situation has the potential to have all of these elements…even if you don’t see them at first. Avoid systems of self defense that teach you different defenses for these situations. Martial arts tend to have different defenses for armed and unarmed attackers. They also prepare you differently for multiple attackers and you’re typically paired with someone who is about your size, strength, sex and ability. None of this is applicable for self defense. You will always face someone bigger and stronger. Most times you will be attacked in low-light conditions, so that punch could actually be a stab but you just wouldn’t see it. Plus if your attacker is smart, he’s going to have his buddies lying in wait to come out after the attack starts. Every attack must be treated as an armed, larger multiple attacker situation.
5. Self defense is UNIVERSAL.
   There shouldn’t be a different self defense for women and the elderly. If it works for them, it will work for a 25 year old weightlifter. The difference is that the twenty something is going to have a lot more room for error than you. A big part of your self defense education is to discover what works for you and develop it. You might not to be able to do EVERYTHING, but you should be able to do SOMETHING. You should also be able to adapt your self defense to your current physical state. That’s why you need a method that you can “take with you” and use for your entire life. You must constantly modify your self defense to meet your ever changing physical abilities.
6. It should include PRACTICAL, every day weapons.
   Weapons are EXTREMELY important because empty hand skills are the lowest rung on the self defense ladder. Weapons level the playing field and enable you to be more efficient and effective. Any system that doesn’t teach you a wide variety of impact, edged and projectile weapons really isn’t a “self defense system” at all. Also, the weapons must be something you carry every day. Unless you’re a Shepard, there’s really no need to learn a bo staff…instead maybe you should know how to use a cane, walking stick, utility knife or hammer. Finally, be wary of “military” systems that don’t teach you weapons as part of the core curriculum…that just doesn’t make any sense.
7. You need to ACTUALLY HIT, STAB AND BLUDGEON with 100% force. 
   The only way to develop real power is to do it full power. Pulling your punches on your training partner DOESN’T DO IT. Hitting air doesn’t do it and neither does stabbing the air. If you want to lift heavy weights you spend the majority of your time LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS.  In self defense you need to GO AS HARD AS YOU CAN with an extreme sense of urgency. The only way to do that is to practice your techniques against a target with FULL POWER. Remember, what you do in practice you’ll do in the street and if you’re pulling your techniques and stopping at the tap – that’s what you’re going to do when you’re fighting under SNS activation.
8. You need to have an “all in” approach.
   I think everyone would agree that you need to train for standing, extreme close range, grappling and the ground. Systems that don’t address this and focus primarily on one position – STANDING or the GROUND are not good self defense systems. Always look to stay on your feet and be mobile – but prepare for the likelihood of getting into a clinch and going to the ground.
9. The system must include AWARENESS and AVOIDANCE as a continuous part of your training.
   Since many martial arts are centered around SPARRING you’re taught to engage the enemy with a ONE ON ONE mindset and DEFEAT your opponent.  Even in self defense practice, martial artists train to the “finishing technique” where your attacker is on the ground and you’re standing over them. This habit sets an unrealistic expectation for you to DEFEAT ALL COMERS and when you’re actually attacked that’s what you’re going try to do (and expect). You will seek to engage and defeat the enemy when in reality it’s much, much easier to AVOID and ESCAPE. In fact, most people are better served just focusing on how to escape.
10. Self Defense in not “clean and tidy”.
    Martial arts have made us believe that with enough training it only takes a “flick of the wrist” to dispatch a determined and dangerous attacker….and you even can do this without getting hurt! But those of us who have seen real violence know this isn’t true. The reality is when you have to fight for your life, it’s VISCERAL, SLOPPY and RAW. Nothing will go perfect and it will definitely not be CLEAN so you need to prepare for this and train in a manner that concentrates on your position, distance, momentum and balance.
11. NO FIGHTING STANCES.
    If you’re being taught to assume a “hands up” fighting stance in the street – RUN don’t walk, away from that system. The last thing you want to do is let your attacker know that you’re trained. Because if he knows you can protect yourself, he will take another approach, maybe now he uses a weapon or he says he doesn’t want to fight – goes to apologize and then stabs you. You never know what you’re dealing with and the less they know about you, the better.
12. Avoid specific self defense counters.
    Many, many systems teach specific defense counters to specific attacks. They have you learn one individual defense counter for an arm grab and a different one for a collar choke, then another one for a wrist grab or another for a pin. Every situation can be broken down to position and distance: Where you are in relation to your attacker and how far away your attacker is from you. Once you understand how to identify the common denominator, every situation becomes EXTREMELY SIMPLE to defend.

There are  universal truths to self defense and the number one is that it takes MORE WILL THAN SKILL. Real self defense should maximize your SNS activation and enable you to fight to your full potential.

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