by Damian Ross
Founder, The Self Defense Company
Some people actually believe that any self defense advice is good. To that end I would ask is any medical advice good? Is any nutrition or exercise advice good?
Of course not…so it’s safe to say…
Not all Self Defense Advice is GOOD.
If you spent time in a martial arts or self defense class you probably heard one of these seven statements.
The Seven Signs Your Instructor is Full of $h!t
1. “Always Walk Away.”
Do you mean turn your back on a potential threat? What if I have my kids with me? Do I leave them?
I don’t understand this statement and for the life of me, I really don’t know why someone would tell another human being to do this ALL OF THE TIME.
I’m sure most victims of violent crime tried to walk away at one point or another but unfortunately the animal attacking them had other plans. You should never turn your back on any threat that is close enough to impose their will on you…EVER.
2. “I Train to Fight so I don’t have to Fight.”
Bruce Lee gets credit for this quote. He’s the same guy who claims to have fought in “hundreds” of street fights in China so much for ‘not fighting’.
Personally “I train to fight so I can fight.”
Accept that violence will happen and go into it reluctantly, but ready.
3. “Violence Never Solves Anything.”
Maybe not, but it sure stops a lot of stuff like rape, murder, WWII, the invasion if Iraq, Flight 93…should I keep going?
There are many people on this earth who use violence to intimidate and take whatever they want. These animals only understand power and pain. The only way to stop them is with power and pain.
4. “Violence is Never the Answer.”
On the contrary, sometimes violence is the only answer. Violence is an immediate and effective means of correcting anti-social behavior.
Violence is a short term solution to an immediate problem.
I wouldn’t try to rehabilitate a criminal by beating him on a daily basis just as I wouldn’t try to counsel a man who was kicking in my door.
5. “Use Non-Lethal Techniques First.”
This notion comes from the “escalation of force” concept. Escalation of force applies to police work and basically comes down to verbal commands, physical and mechanical use of force and finally deadly use of force.
This concept is constantly misapplied.
When it comes down to self defense once you’ve made the decision to use force you have only one obligation – survive and stop the threat as fast as possible by whatever means possible.
The question you need to ask is what exactly is a non-lethal technique?
There’s no classification in any law book that details what specific techniques you can use.
There’s only legal use of force and excessive force and that get’s determined by a judge and jury…and a GOOD LAWYER. Police enforce the law, lawyers and judges argue the law. There’s a difference and you should know it.
The point is this, it’s better to go in hard and slow down AFTER you’ve dominated the situation than to go in soft and “escalate” to meet your attacker’s use of force.
Don’t put yourself one step behind your attacker.
6. “Always let your attacker, attack first.”
This goes along with “always let him throw the first punch” which may work in the school yard with 4th graders, but in the real world we call the guy who waits for the attacker to attack first the victim.
Waiting for the punch or the grab is too late. A good street fighter is going to attack you with a barrage of punches, stabs and any other means possible to beat you into the earth. Letting him “attack first” will assure your failure…unless he REALLY SCREWS UP.
Yet in every martial arts and self defense class millions of students around the world train to the attacker attack first and THIS IS INSANE!!
You line up with your partner, let him get close and wait for him to attack. Against a real threat in the real world this is way too late.
You will never have a chance to do that fancy move you pay $200-$300 a month to learn.
What you need to do is put yourself in a position of advantage and identify the intent of your threat BEFORE he makes a move.
Then you attack in a way that takes into consideration that your attacker is armed, has intent, has friends, is bigger and stronger than you.
7. “Always fight ‘honorably’.”
Let’s make one thing clear – LIVE HONORABLY, but FIGHT DIRTY.
Once the decision is made to go, then you need to go full bore, no BS.
Never put yourself at risk by training in tactics that enable your attacker to “slip away.”
In fact, the safest and most humane thing to do is to end the conflict as fast as possible.
Your safety comes first – not your attacker’s safety.
Going into a real fight with the notion that you’re superior just because you go to a gym and that your attacker is “untrained” is a HUGE mistake.
Most of the scariest people you will ever meet never spent a day in a dojo. What makes them dangerous isn’t their strength or their techniques, it’s their will to do anything it takes to get what they want.
You must be willing to do the same.
The hardest thing you will ever have to do is come to the realization that violence happens and you need to take that first step.
There are people who use violence to get want they want. To defeat these animals you must be willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself and the people you care about.
It’s the only true way.
Train Honestly,
Damian Ross, Founder/ CEO The Self Defense Company
