Self-Defense 101

... If you're like 99 percent of your fellow martial artists, you don't get into fights very often, and when you do, you rarely find yourself in a back-against-the-wall, life-and-death struggle for survival. Unfortunately, that puts you, the dedicated student of self-defense, in a quandary: How do you hone your skill in an endeavor you almost never take part in? ...

The Realities of Violence

... People who haven't experienced sudden violence rarely understand the realities of it. Over the years I've attended numerous seminars and demonstrations given by martial artists and law enforcement instructors, and have found within a few moments, I can usually determine whether an instructor gets it or not, unfortunately, some don't seem to have a clue about how fast a real assault can be, especially up close ...

Interview with Muggers - why they target certain people for attack

... The two interviewees wished, for obvious reasons, to remain anonymous. They both earned their living from crime, more specifically robbery with violence (migging), accosting up to eight victimes in any one night ...

Avoiding The Biggest Mistake In Self Defense Training

... How many times have you stood on the mat in your dojo and waited for your training partner to grab your wrist? ...

Fighting Men Of World War 2

... To be effective, close-quarters combat must be simple, straightforward and brutal. It must work under battlefiled conditions in which you're tired and frightened and when gross-motor skills may be all you're capable of. It must be easy to learn and easy to use without warning in any environment. One of the figures who shaped that notion of close-quarters combat ...

A Fight Broken Down Into 3 Phases

... I have broken down a fight into 3 phases, each of equal importance. I will explain what each phase is, and the methods for implementing each phases tactics. First we have to enter. If we do not enter in a street fight , we cannot get into the most lethal range to terminate the fight, where we can use our headbutts , knees and elbows ...

Rapid Assault Tactics - Turning a martial artist into a pedestrian

... Angelo Dundee, trainer of the legendary Muhammed Ali, once proclaimed "The first-est with the most-est is the best-est!". He understood that perhaps the single most important attribute one could posses in an all-out streetfight is overwhelming ones opponent. And by "overwhelming" I do not mean just physically blasting through someone, but overwhelming him emotionally as well. This means we are going to rattle this opponent - cause him to flinch, shut his eyes, cover up and perhaps turn away. Once this occurs, the rest of the fight gets exponentially easier ...

No-Holds-Barred Tournaments are not Streetfights

... The last ten years of martial arts have seen more growth and progress than the previous fifty, because of the insurgance of the many no holds barred tournaments occuring worldwide. My respect and admiration for these warriors goes beyond words. They are among the toughest, most well conditioned athletes on the planet. We see the quality of fighters improving each year. These fighters are becoming more complete every day. Punchers and kickers are learning to grapple and grapplers are slowly learning to punch and kick. Being well roundede and multi dimensional are no longer just trendyideas, but downright necessities ...

What To Do When You Run Out Of Gas During A Fight

The fighter, his eyes bulging from asphyxiation, looks to his companios at the divider and asks how much time is left, while trying to hold his opponent down. As he discovers only 5mins have gone by and there are five left to go before the saving bell sounds, he wonders how he will manage to make it till the end. In fighter talk running out of gas is something every fighter has gone through.It happens, its normal. But can it be avoided ...

Trouble In The Night Club or pub

If you sence menace in a drinking place, leave and go somewhere else, thats the easy and simple soloution. Someone once asked what he should do if someone stared menacingly at him in the pub and that they felt that there may be an attack. "Put your drink down and go somewhere else" I said. For the price of a pint you've saved yourself a hell of alot of trouble ...

Violence In The Town

Whenever you take public transport try to sit in full view of other travellers and/ or public transport staff and try not get involved into public order offences that have nothing to do with you. If some scumbag wants to smoke in a non smoking area of the train etc, let the transport security deal with it because that's their job and they are trained to do it better. Often our ego takes over and we think its our divine right to step in and tell some youth that he should be doing this or should not be doing that, buts its not your right unless you want an altercation with them, saty out of it ...

An Instance of Taking a Pistol Away

... No one can move his body faster than the speed of a bullet, no matter how well trained he is. Every one thinks there is no defence against an opponent who has a pistol pointed at you, unless he can be caught off guard. Of course it is another problem entirely when your opponent intents to shoot you from the very beginning. In this case, you must understand his intention before he shoots and takes appropriate action ...