Self Defense Classes: Top 5 Things To Look For In A Self Defense Class

Shopping for a self defense course can be confusing and you probably don't know what you should be looking for in the first place (that's why you are looking for a course in the first place)

So here is a quick list of the most important things to find out before signing up or purchasing any self defense course.

1. Does the instructor have real world self defense or combat experience, not just a black belt?

You don't have to be a self defense or fighting expert to get a black belt. Many dojo masters have little to no real world fighting experience.

Look for a course taught by someone with military, bar bouncing, law enforcement, or body guarding experience. These are the people who deal with self defense all the time.

2. How is the course taught? Will you be sparring full speed with a partner or practicing full speed on a person in a padded suit?

If not keep shopping. How can you possibly hope to do something in a real life high stress environment when you have never even practiced it full speed in a controlled environment?

3. How long is the course? A weekend course is a great start but you will need to find a dedicated partner to practice with after the course is over. I would suggest practicing at least two or three times a month to keep your skills up (this is a bare minimum).

A month long course would be a much better choice because we can only learn so much in a weekend. More classes will allow you to remember more information and make your responses second nature.

4. What is the focus of the course? Is the instructor more concerned about techniques or targets?

Self defense is all about targets never let anyone tell you otherwise. Techniques (punches, kicks, elbows etc.) are simply tools for hitting targets. Any good instructor will tell you that a mediocre kick to the right target can still take an attacker down.

5. Does the course come with a video or manual? Let's face it we forget things we don't use every day. You may attend a class for a month, practice religiously for a month or two then get busy and stop practicing for several months and forget almost everything.

One great advantage of video self defense courses is that you can always refresh yourself everything you learn.

By following this simple guide you will be able to find the best self defense course on the market, and not throw your money away on a bad program.

For some simple easy to learn targets and techniques for self defense check out my blog at Fightfast.com/blog and sign up to receive my Free 15 Brutal Fight Enders.

Stay Smart and Stay Safe,
Bob Pierce
President
Fightfast.com

Bob Pierce is the President of Fightfast.com which specializes in providing its customers the practical knowledge and skills they need to keep themselves and their families safe. TRS the parent company of Fightfast.com has been a self defense industry leader since the early 1990s bringing costumers highly skilled instructors with real world self defense skills.

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Death by Jockdom - 5 Ways to Avoidable Tragedy

Athletes are part of life. Most of us in an athletic field or profession, regardless of our discipline, are often referred to as jocks. Fair enough. However, although jocks can be nice guys and contribute to the well-being of society, there is a time when discretion and common sense dictate withdrawal from a potentially violent situation. Instincts play a part, as do circumstances. But let's be clear-simply being a great athlete, weight lifter, buffed out football player, hockey player or any configuration of the same-does not guarantee one's safety in a self-defense situation. Retreat is a viable military tactic, and knowing when to retreat and create distance between you and a potentially destructive or lethal situation is vital to staying healthy or even staying alive. One may be right in an argument, but he may also be dead right, and that's the crux of the problem.

True story-June, 2011: A southern California strength and conditioning coach, his brother and friends were out late one night. In visiting an all-night restaurant, a confrontation began between them and a woman who cut in line. Words were exchanged. One of the guys apparently spit in the woman's face in response to her negative attitude. The argument escalated and the restaurant owner asked them all to leave. She called her boyfriend, and when he arrived with his entourage of buddies, a fight occurred in the parking lot. The result was that the strength and conditioning coach was stabbed to death. One of his friends also died of knife wounds inflicted by the girl's boyfriend who had a prior history of armed assault with a deadly weapon. The alleged stabber/murderer was arrested and is currently waiting trial.

Sad... but too common. How many stories exist of young people dying because of such a lack of wisdom and an all-too-anxious ego-driven desire to mix it up? What self-defense principles could have been employed to diffuse this situation and prevent the tragic death of those in this event?

1: Balanced and Calm Demeanor

Life will forever present events and/or people who annoy us or do things that potentially upset us. However, that does not mean we should allow them or their actions to imbalance us and disturb our sense of calm. In truth, no one can upset us. We allow them or their actions to upset us. Having someone cut in line is one thing, but does it warrant an escalation to the point of argument or worse?

2: Humble Attitude

Humility is the highest form of strength; arrogance is the highest form of weakness. Humility is a great shield against the arrogance of insanity that pervades society. Lacking humility and having a quick trigger to spit in someone's face is anything but humble and everything that is incendiary.

3: Awareness of the Situation

Reading a situation is critical to well-being. Heroes may never get killed in the movies, but real life is not the movies. People's emotions are like fire, and young people's emotions are like a forest fire, and, sadly, most young people feel they are invincible. Such thought is a specter of illusion. Assessing a situation and its potential for creating problems and danger is essential to our well-being. Living in a state of naiveté is dangerous. Be safe. Be aware.

4: Create Distance

When a situation begins to flare up, one of the safest and wisest things to do is leave. Create distance between you and the situation. Had these young men left the restaurant when the girl was calling her boyfriend or when the owner asked them to leave, they would still be alive. There's nothing smart or heroic about staying in the forest when a fire starts, fires which can spread very fast, especially when there is ample emotional kindling to fuel it.

5: Do You Want to Die on this Hill?

Some battles are better not fought or at least postponed until a better opportunity presents itself for engagement. Picking and choosing our battles is important. Some battles are not worth fighting, let alone sacrificing our life for. A person cutting in line, although unseemly, is an event demanding wise assessment. In this case, such assessment was not made and the result was the tragic death of two young men and all of the attending pain, suffering and turmoil accompanying it.

Was this murder scenario Death by Jockdom? Was it more a condition of ego and testosterone than wisdom and humility? Only the participants can answer that. The fact is, two young men cannot answer because they're dead, however accomplished or nice people they may have been.

Summary

We are living in an ever-volatile environment demanding, perhaps more than ever, a calm disposition and ability to assess situations for their danger. Tensions are high. People are stressed. Respect for law and order, even life, seems to be waning. Life is more fragile than some people choose to believe. Danger can be around any corner, at any time. One never knows when a situation will erupt into a volcanic explosion. Be wise. Be smart. Be calm. Be balanced. Be humble. Assess situations for their potential damage. Create distance if you have to in order to remain safe, and never forget to ask yourself, "Do you want to die on this hill?"

Richard Andrew King is the Founder and Grandmaster of the Karate Institute of America and the Kiado-Ryu martial arts system. He has studied the fighting arts since 1968 and taught professionally since 1979. Having instructed thousands of people of all ages, as well as having a successful competitive career in weapons, forms and fighting, King is author of The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. His books, instructional martial arts DVDs and CDs are available through his websites: http://richardking.net/, http://kingskarate.net/ and at Amazon.com.

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Your Guide to BJJ GI Weaves

When it comes to selecting your next BJJ GI you need to understand the different types of weaves used and what their pros and cons are. When choosing your next BJJ GI you first need to decide what you want from the GI. Do you want a GI that will be durable and last a long time? Do you want it to compete in? Is comfort a deciding factor? Once you know what you want from your next BJJ GI choosing the right weave will be made a whole lot easier.

Single Weave

Single weave GI's are often the choice of many people starting out in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. They are normally cheap in price, readily available and light in weight. The shrinkage with single weaves is normally pretty good due to the closeness of the weave. So expect shrinkage to be around 5%. A couple of downsides are that they are thin and not as durable as some of the other weaves available and they are easy to manipulate for grips and chokes when live sparring. All in all single weave GI's are a good purchase for someone starting out or someone who wants a second BJJ GI for hot summer months or for competing in.

Double Weave

Double weave BJJ GI's used to be the top choice for fighters in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. They offer strength and durability. Some fighters prefer them because the thickness can make it harder for their opponent to grab and gain dominant grips or manipulate for chokes and submissions. Due to the tightness of the weave shrinkage is nearly nonexistent. But double weaves are not as popular as they once were. Their extra weight can become uncomfortable during long training sessions, their very hot in warm climates or in summer months and due to their thickness they can restrict your movement. Not many GI manufacturers still produce double weaves but the ones that do charge a lot of money for them. in my opinion the cons well outweigh the pros.

Gold Weave

Gold weaves are a cross between single weaves and double weaves. They offer the strength and durability of the double weave with some of the lightness and comfort of a single weave. For a long time gold weave GI's where literally the gold standard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu GI's. With the gold weave being so popular nearly every major BJJ GI company offers a gold weave model and normally at very competitive prices. One major downside is shrinkage. Because the weave is not as tight as a single or double weave there is a lot more room for the GI to shrink. The shrinkage is normally at least 5-10% with some shrinking more than that. It's sometimes advisable to get a size bigger than you would normally get.

Pearl Weave

If gold weaves are the gold standard the pearl weave are the diamond standard. They literally offer the strength and durability of a double weave, the comfort of a gold weave and the lightness of a single weave. The material is thin but the weave is so tight that it maintains the strength. Pearl weaves are the choice of most people for fighting in competitions. Because the material is so thin, it makes them a lot lighter than other types of GI's. This can be an advantage when you are cutting weight or close to your weight limit in a competition. One other plus side to the weave being so tight is that shrinkage is very minimal normally between 0-5%. Some companies offer pre shrunk GI's that they claim will not shrink one bit. Many manufacturers offer their own special type of weave especially with their ultra light BJJ GI's. Their "special" weaves are normally their own type of pearl weave but they are still a pearl weave. In my opinion pearl weave Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi's are the best by far and if you can afford one it should be your Gi of choice due to it having all the best attributes of the other Gi's and none of the downsides.

Check out ProFightwear when choosing your next bjj gi

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Martial Arts : Choosing the right instructor for self defense!

You've seen the ads plastered all over the internet. You know - the ones that claim to have the "secret" that the Army doesn't want you to know, or some such garbage.

All of these ads are playing on the laziness inherent in some people who want to learn that ONE technique that will stop any attacker in less than 10 seconds, without having to do the work of actually training. But, the truth is that self defense is a very deep subject. There are just too many variables for anyone - myself included - to tell you that there is one magic self defense technique that will beat any and every attacker.

And, if you're serious about learning effective self defense, then you cannot limit yourself to a single "style" or approach to fighting, as seen in most martial arts schools. You also cannot limit yourself to the rule-laden systems that prepare students for karate or mixed martial arts tournaments either.

There is just too much that is possible in the context of a self defense encounter. There is also so much that you either won't have control of, or won't know about until the moment you find yourself being attacked. Thinks like:

Environment and surrounding size and build of your attacker What will trigger the event Method of attack How far your attacker is willing to go How many assailants you'll be facing...

And so much more!

Add to this things like clothing styles, any training your attacker might possess, your level of health, etc., and you have the makings of a real nightmare!

In fact, without the right guidance and help from someone who has been there before, in many different types of situations, and who has survived to tell about it, you have absolutely no idea just how life-changing a real attack can be!

And, the reality is that each and every one of the variables that I listed above - and those that I didn't - have there own variables that makes each one a little bit different.

What I means is that, let's take "method of attack" as an example for just a minute. Even if we were just dealing with a punch, what kind...

Straight (jab or lunging)? Hooking (boxer's right cross, flailing, or upper-cut)? Intensity (speed attack or a full-power, hauling off, knock-your head off with one shot punch)?

Do you get it?

Remember, most of these "secret" courses speak of self defense, but after reading many of them, they all point to "fighting." The idea they push is that you'll be against a single attacker, who's in front of you, throwing what the writer says is the "way "they" All attack."

Who the hell is "they," and what experience does he have in making the statement that everyone that you could be up against will attack the exact same way?

What? Did they all go to "Bad-ass Attacker University?!"

And...

There is no discussion about the guy who comes up from behind and shoves you to the ground, and smashes your skull with a steel pipe - no talk of the assailant who's so drunk or hyped up on drugs that, unless you physically break his bones, he won't stop because he can't feel what you're doing to him - no talk of the family member who, because of anger, a bad reaction to medication, or for whatever reason snaps and comes at you before you ever know what's going on!

Are you seeing the picture yet?

The honest truth is that there is no shortcut when it comes to self defense!

Are there core level principles and concepts that, if you learn them, you'll have a significant advantage over most attackers? Yes.

Are there ways to hit an attacker - techniques that will stop him in his tracks and make it so that he can't get up. Sure.

But, you have to remember that your attacker will be a real, flesh-and-blood human being. He will probably have much more experience at attacking than you have at defending against madmen like him.

And, he's never going to let you do that cool, "secret technique" that you learned in Joe Cool Karate-man's book either!

If you are going to effectively defend yourself - you are going to have to EARN every strike, every kick and every technique that you get in on him while trying to survive the assault!

Do you see why there can never be a single technique that will beat every attacker? Do you get it now.

So, now what?

So, the next time you see one of those ads selling a magic silver bullet... run!

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.

If you really want to know what most people don't know about how to master self defense and how to survive a real street attack, read my newest self defense book: "Fight Smarter - Not Harder!" It's available free at: http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com/street-fighting-self-defense-book.html

Jeffrey M. Miller is an internationally-known self defense expert. Each month he teaches literally thousands of students through live seminars, corporate training events, and his online self defense courses, the lessons to be able to survive in Today's often dangerous world.