SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES: WHO HAS THE REAL KOOL-AID?
I get inundated with emails pointing to different self-defense classes and training videos, all asking for my opinion on whether it’s the real deal or not. There are a lot of different flavors of Kool-Aid out there (ours included) – A veritable rainbow of “ultimate” and “unbeatable” systems. But who has the real Kool-Aid? Well, […]
ANTISOCIAL CONFRONTATION: AGGRESSIVE, BADASS OR DEADLY?
You can tell how serious someone is about really dropping a man by where they place themselves to get the job done and where they land when it comes to antisocial confrontation. Angry or aggressive fighters will go toe-to-toe, literally stepping up to the man and then reaching out with their limbs to cover the […]
INTIMIDATION DURING SELF PROTECTION IS A SUCKER’S GAME
Human societies are fascinated with strength and power. Obvious personal power especially — height, musculature, and a hair-trigger willingness to do violence or self protection are eternally impressive to us. We all desire what those attributes grant those who have them: to be respected, to inspire awe, and perhaps fear. When we are intimidated, we […]
SELF-DEFENSE: STOP FIGHTING AND DELIVER A BEATING
When you think about self-defense in a life-or-death physical altercation, what scares you the most? I’m willing to bet your biggest fear is that the other guy will hurt you. Whether he does it with a gun, a knife, a club or fists and boots, you are preoccupied with stopping him from hurting you. And […]
SELF-DEFENSE AND FIGHT SCIENCE
I love the television shows where physicists, doctors, self-defense experts and computer visualization artists all get together to look at what goes on inside the human body when it gets used as a punching bag. Like the show Fight Science: Of course, things go wrong when everyone involved assumes that the human body behaves like […]
SELF-DEFENSE Q&A: WHERE DOES TFT FIT INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT?
Greg M. writes: “I recently started receiving your training e-mails and they are full of great self-defense information. I am going to pass them on to my training staff for their input. Now the question: I clearly see the use for your methods when that ‘oh shit’ moment comes. Most regular citizens can come to […]
THE ULTIMATE SELF-DEFENSE FIGHTING TECHNIQUE
The ultimate, undefeatable secret self-defense fighting technique doesn’t exist. Sorry. After eons of tearing into each other, it’s all been done, cataloged and trained. Ad nauseam. There is, literally, nothing new under the sun. What we do have from all that awful R&D is a vast spew of systems, styles, traditions, paths and ways. And […]
SELF DEFENSE AND YOUR EXPECTATIONS
When you look at this picture, which guy needs self defense? If you found yourself in the above situation, what would you do? Your response will show your self defense expectations and where you see yourself in violence. It’s an inkblot test, or one of those optical illusions where you can see either a vase or […]
SURVIVING THE AFTERMATH OF SELF-DEFENSE
The following question is why we go to such great lengths to educate our self-defense clients about the realities of breaking the physical plane. Anonymous writes: “Denver Colorado, three years ago. A friend of mine (we were both Rangers in Vietnam) was out for his 60th birthday celebration with friends. They all decided to leave […]
WHEN YOUR LIFE IS ON THE LINE, HERE’S HOW YOU PLAY BY THE RULES
In the self-protection training environment, anything works as long as we all agree it does. On the street, the only things that work are the laws of physics. If you don’t get an injury, nothing changes in your favor. Nobody’s going to “respect your technique” just because they’re supposed to. People will keep going as […]