How to apply Iron body training in self-defense

Iron body training is common among martial artists in Karate and Shaolin kung fu. Many practitioners break bricks, concrete blocks, boards, and other hard surfaces. The idea is that by hardening bone and muscles, you're able to withstand powerful blows while delivering them. Before we delve into Iron body training, let's examine the science of it. I'll only give a brief summary of the facts and leave extensive research to you.

According to Wolff's law, the bones of a healthy person will adapt to the loading placed on them. If the loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will become stronger over time by remodeling itself.

When martial art practitioners strike hard surfaces, microfractures occur in certain body parts. Osteoclasts remove damaged bone while Osteoblasts deposit minerals for bone remodeling. Osteoblasts will cover it with a honeycomb structure and the bone will become denser than before. The effects of bone structure depend on the length, level, and rate of the work load. It's been found that cyclic loading leads to bone formation. In other words, bone remodeling occurs overtime. There must be periods of rest for healing or Osteoblasts won't be able to repair damaged bones (1).

Iron body training can also harden muscle tissue. After an intense work-out, you may notice that your muscles hurt. This is because there's small micro tears in your muscle tissues. They heal over time as your body creates new muscle fibers. Your muscles become stronger and bigger as a result (2).

As we can see, Iron body training is scientifically verifiable and effective especially in combat. There are exceptions where it doesn't work. It would depend entirely on your genes and body to determine whether this type of training is suitable for you.

Why train in Iron body? For the following reasons:

* You can withstand powerful attacks - You'll be able to absorb powerful attacks in many areas of the body namely from melee weapons. Your attacker's limbs might end up injured or broken. This is because your attacker isn't accustomed to the sudden overwhelming force on the bones and muscles. Your attacker will have very limited targets available to him or her.    

* You can deliver punishing blows - With proper technique and Iron body training, your attacks will be very devastating. The force in a punch could for example break bones and cause them to impale internal organs, killing the attacker.

* You prevent injuries in combat - Many martial artists like to wear gloves during training. This works in sport but not for self-defense. The average person's hands are fragile and break easily. Iron body training conditions your fists to prevent them from breaking easily. You can also target hard bones in other parts of the body without injuring your fists.

How can you practice Iron shirt training? Here's several tips.

1. Find proper materials - Depending on what body part you want to work on, you'll need to find proper materials. You don't want to use dangerous items that could potentially damage your body. Find materials for beginners and materials for more advanced stages. you could use your hands to start off light or purchase materials for iron body training. if you don't have a large budget then you need to improvise. You could use a wall, tree, or partner. You could also put a bunch of textbooks in a book bag. Soft material can be used for your fists to cushion them for knuckle push ups. Chinese medicine such as Dit Da Jow before and after training. This helps improve circulation, reduce swelling, pain, and heals injuries or wounds.

2. Start off light - Strike a body area such as your albs with open hand slaps 100 times.You must do it lightly but not too light to where you feel no force whatsoever. If it's with your fist, start by tensing it against a wall. Gradually push your bodyweight on it. Do this for a period of time until your hands or body area become tougher.

3. Gradually increase the work load - Once you notice considerable changes, replace the training equipment with more advanced tools. Gradually increase the force you exert on your body. You could start punching the wall harder as you progress. You could hit your albs with more force and items such as bricks. You could have a partner strike you to look for "soft spots."

4. Make a routine - NEVER try to go beyond your limits in Iron body training. You could injure yourself. Allow yourself time to heal for a day or however long it takes to recover. Develop a training regimen and stick to it.

5. Practice combat skills without protection - If you are to test and hone your Iron body conditioning for self-defense, you'll have to ditch protective gear eventually. This means for example punching heavy bags without gloves. This could also mean engaging in full-contact sparring without any gear.

Remember that it's your responsibility to take care of your own body. Practice these tips safely. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

 
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1. https://www.jetli.com/2016/09/the-science-of-iron-hand-training 

2. https://www.builtlean.com/2013/09/17/muscles-grow/ 

Why sparring IS NOT self defense

Many people believe that sparring helps them to develop hand-to-hand combat skills for use in the real world. They believe that the more you spar, the better you will be at defending yourself. I'm here to tell you that sparring alone will not make you better at self defense. Don't misunderstand me, i'm not saying that you won't learn any skills that could be used for self defense. I'm simply giving you many variables and considerations to take into account. Here are my list of reasons why the way most teach sparring is ineffective for self defense:

* Sparring doesn't prepare you for the unexpected - Think about it. You have two people on the mat with head gear and a bunch of other safety equipment on. Both know that they are about to fight and consent to it. In the real world, you don't know 100% that you'll be attacked. Your attacker won't tell you if he or she is going to attack and how. I've tested this myself with a sparring partner on multiple occasions. Coincidentally, he hit me without letting me know we were sparring. If that happened on the streets, i probably would've been knocked out. Sparring does not teach you how to deal with those situations.

* Sparring teaches street fighting - Once you put on your headgear and other safety equipment for sparring then prepare yourself for hand-to-hand combat, you are training for street-fighting. Why is it street fighting and not self defense? For one, sparring doesn't teach you how to avoid a potentially violent situation or diffuse it. Another reason you have to consider is that your attacker may not do those Karate kicks or Judo throws that your partner used in class. If you expect your attacker to just exchange punches only to find out you've been hit from behind by one of his buddies or attacked with a lethal weapon, all of your sparring lessons were just rendered useless. The last reason is that you aren't learning to neutralize the threat quickly enough. The longer the fight goes on, the more danger you put yourself in. Unfortunately, you will find many people claiming "self defense" be it on youtube or in person when they were street fights in reality because they gave their consent.

* Sparring has rules - Many forms of sparring include no hits to vulnerable areas. Sparring conditions you to only strike anywhere but those areas. That's a great hindrance to you and an advantage for your attacker who intends on seriously injuring or killing you. Another common practice is instilling "point systems." This is where you execute certain attacks or techniques to score points. When you have enough points, your opponent is considered defeated. This type of training is instilling false confidence be it with your fists or weapons because it completely ignores adrenaline rushes and pain tolerance. You might be surprised to find that no matter how many times you hit your attacker in the real world, he or she still won't go down. As a result, your confidence will start to break and chances are, you will give up or get hit. Some sparring sessions include making an opponent tap out. In reality, your attacker will do everything in his or her power to attack you. Once you let go of your submission hold, there's nothing preventing your attacker from landing a fatal blow. This video depicts one example where a man was being assaulted before others followed.

* Sparring neglects everything else in violence - Combat is much more complex than what sparring classes teach. There are adrenaline rushes, fight or flight response, weapons, multiple attackers, drugs, alcohol, stress, morals, psychology, the list goes on. If you are being bullied to the brink of insanity and your self esteem is being drained, do you really think you will be able to use what you learned in sparring against the bully? No. The bully already has a psychological advantage against you. If you freeze because of insecurity, the bully will take advantage of that and beat you up. If you aren't mentally prepared to hurt or kill your attacker then you will get hurt or killed. Thee aftermath of a violent confrontation (injuries, PTSD, prison, etc.) is also something to think about.

* Sparring gives false security - It's easy to fight when your wearing headgear, gloves, and other safety gear along with knowing that your partner isn't trying to kill you. In real life, you won't have this luxury. Your attacker will try to hurt and kill you. Your fist might break the moment you make contact with your attacker's jaw or cheekbone. Will sparring teach you how to handle an attacker trying to intimidate you? Will sparring condition you to cause real injury to another human being? Will sparring teach you how to execute eye gouges and other dirty fighting tactics properly? No. This is why sparring gives false confidence.

In conclusion, nothing you learn in self defense schools is guaranteed to save your life and this includes what i teach. You'll have a percentage of people who've misused hand-to-hand combat intended for self defense to street fight. You'll have a percentage of instructors who teach hand-to-hand combat but never had to use all of them in self defense. You'll have those who used them but the results were far different than expected. There's too many variables that you cannot account for all of them in self defense training. What's the best advice i can give you? Don't get into a violent situation. Focus more on avoiding or diffusing conflict before it starts.

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What is Everything Self Defense?

In this blog post, i will provide you with some background on who i am and why i started this blog.

Since i was a child, i was always interested in the subject of self defense. I've come up with plans on what to do if there was a home intruder and how i'd defend the family with improvised weapons. I was introduced to martial arts through films such as Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon", "Way of the Dragon", Jackie Chan's "drunken master", among other films. To top it off, my brother was a Karate student so he taught me a bit on Karate. Since then, i studied many different martial arts every now and then. One of the things that inspired me to learn hand to hand combat was watching two of my friends engage in a street fight with each other one night. It started when they agreed to duel each other so we all gathered around them in a church parking lot. Both agreed that whoever gets knocked down first is declared the loser of the fight. From the time the fight began, i was surprised to see how well both fought. They both seemed to have an understanding of how to street fight. Both landed several punches then retreated. Both landed many kicks to the midsection but they tensed their albs in order to absorb the impact. Finally, one of my friends fell over by accident after a kick and lost. I was eager to get in the fight but one of my other friends said "no he's too little."  

I've had a bunch of sparring sessions with friends and family. We'd engage in fist fights light contact sparring and such. With family, someone would almost always get hurt so we had to stop completely. With friends, i remember engaging in a duel using weapons. I had a small piece of paper shaped into a sword and he had a piece of metal serving as a switch. He cut my legs up a couple of times but i gave him several paper cuts on his hands and fingers. My mom was very upset on the aftermath of the fight. I've also had a sparring session with two of my friends in school where it was a two on one. I can remember slamming one into the chair and trying to attack the other one. My teacher came to break up the sparring session.

I've got into watching shows like "Samurai Jack", "24", and other films. Just seeing how well they adapted to every situation made a huge impact on how i saw not just martial arts but combat in general. I'd ask my older brother questions on how deal with a particular violent situation at the age of 13. I was already coming up with certain ways to defend myself. I didn't retaliate even after being hit by several kids in school. I didn't want the situation to escalate into further conflict and chose not to respond or to avoid the situation all together.

There's several more darker experiences leading me to the self defense world such as anger issues and family. I've never been in a street fight with friends or strangers because i didn't see the need for it. I've never had that deep of a problem where i needed to resort to violence against friends or strangers. I did have several fights break out between me and family. Violence was at one point a way of expressing my anger and frustrations. Sometimes, it was done out of self defense. When my older brother scared me, i can recall one incident where i attacked him by swinging wild punches and i had to be restrained. When i saw my mother beating my sister with a switch, i intervened by landing several kicks (one which split her lip in two). I received a beating in the process. I was also violent towards my abusive father. Bullying also had a negative effect on me growing up. Child abuse, bullying, and getting robbed all these dark experiences built rage up within me among other negative effects. That was the driving force in learning self defense.

I began learning and practicing Wing Chun in 2013 among other martial arts. I realized i had several deep insights in self defense and i wanted to share them with people which is why i started this blog. What makes this blog unique? It teaches simple self defense principles as opposed to techniques and demonstrations. I realized that many martial arts schools and some self defense schools have unrealistic training methods to dealing with violent situations in the street. This is because they don't seek to understand the criminal mindset. Another reason why i don't teach techniques is because what works best for one person may not work for another person. I'm against traditional standardized education because there's so many variables in combat that it's not possible to teach them all in one set of curriculum. I post links that help me personally but i encourage everyone to find the answers to their own questions using the principles i advise. I put a strong emphasis on open-mindedness and look for new ideas while challenging old ones.

What mainly sets this blog apart is the emphasis on dealing with every possible violent situation in self defense. While your average self defense school may teach basic self defense on the street, i inspire people to adapt to every possible situation. Whether it's your average street attacker regardless of size or skill, expected or unexpected attacks, multiple attackers, armed criminals, animals, active shooters, suicide bombers, etc. - strive to persevere your own life at your highest potential. I also tend to give advice on other topics such as situational awareness, conflict resolution, weapons, diffusion, verbal self defense, training, psychology, the list goes on. My goal is to teach people effective self defense by providing a few solutions to many problems. The purpose in all of my posts is to teach people to never surrender when it comes to saving their own lives.

I hope to reach my goals and provide you with insights on how to defend yourself to your uttermost potential.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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How to improve JKD 5 ways of attack

If you are a JKD practitioner wondering how you can improve the Jeet Kune Do five ways of attack then this guide will teach you. Take note that this is for self defense purposes. It is not done purely for the sake of an art. Here are several training tips to help you understand how to improve the ways of attack in Jeet Kune Do.

* Single direct attack - When confronted with a potential attacker in your face, a single direct attack will end the fight quickly. For more, read my post "how to end street fights FAST! " (http://everythingselfdefense.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-to-end-street-fights-fast.html). In order to use this type of attack, you must understand how to set it up. In ancient times, Samurai trained to end a violent confrontation in one swift stroke. The first attack meant the difference between life and death (see link below for reference.) This video of Iajutsu demonstrates this in application. This same concept is applied in hand-to-hand combat. Karate has adopted this mindset in Ikken hissatsu "to annihilate at one blow." Of course you won't kill your opponent, but you will at most cause a knock out. As a JKD practitioner, you should like a samurai have the peace of mind and concentrate on the decisive moment of the fight. Forget about everything else. Through reading your opponent's body language, having excellent intuition, accuracy, timing, speed, commitment to attack, power, structure, evasion or deflection, judgement of distance, understanding the line of attack, and more then your intercepting attacks will improve. When your opponent telegraphs his or her attack be it a clinched fist or raised arm, that's when you strike at an unpredictable angle. Be sure that you don't telegraph your attacks or your first attack might fail. Your target should be the temples, under the chin, the jaw, neck, the nose area, or back of head.

Practice sparring with these ideas in mind with a partner. A training method i recommend is having your partner wear a punching mitt and a boxing glove. Practice evading or deflecting the punches as you punch the mitt at the same time.You could also practice this in all out sparring.

 * Attack by combination - The idea of attack by combination is to overwhelm your opponent with a series of strikes until you create an opening. Ideally, you should strike high and low at different angles. One strike is bound to hit your opponent's unguarded area when done right. Change the rhythm and pace of your attacks to throw your opponent off guard. If you attack fast and hard then suddenly stop, your opponent will be confused thus leaving an exposed area to attack.

Practice sparring with a partner using padwork. It might help if you train with a target bag to train attacking at different angles and help improve accuracy. Go at different paces from slow to fast.

* Hand Immobilization attack - Essentially the Wing Chun concept of trapping an opponent except it's not limited to grabbing only the arms. You could grab your opponent's hair, head, shirt, or jacket. You could stomp kick your opponent on the foot and trap it as you attack. You could also use the environment to immobilize your opponent. If for example you are fighting in close quarters, you could use the wall as leverage to trap the leg and prevent your opponent from kicking. The attack by hand immobilization is a means of forcefully creating an opening in your opponent's defenses.

Practice with a sparring partner. When the opportunity presents itself, take it as you go with the flow.

* Progressive Indirect Attack - This is accomplished when you perform a fake strike to gauge a reaction from your opponent before you quickly change the direction of your attack. In order for this to be effective, you need to understand how to use body language to your advantage. Otherwise, you won't be able to trick your opponent effectively. Make your opponent believe you are committing to a strike to a certain area with your eyes, hand and leg movement, facial expressions, etc. Practice sparring with a partner or in the mirror. This video explains in further detail.

* Attack by Drawing - This is done when you lure your opponent in a trap. This can be done by leaving an area of your body exposed briefly before you deflect or evade the attack and counter-attack. Attack by drawing can also be accomplished through other means. You could verbally or non-verbally anger your opponent and if he/she charges in, you intercept his/her attacks quickly. You could also pretend to be exhausted as you briefly lower your guard and if your opponent falls for it, you intercept your opponent quickly. There's many ways you can draw your opponent to attack with proper awareness of yourself and your surroundings.

Figure out how you can trick your opponent into committing to an attack. For example, i can use my long hair as an advantage to get my opponent thinking that's my weakness. As soon as my opponent tries to grab it, i intercept him/her. If my opponent successfully grabs my hair, i trap the hand as i land a devastating strike at the same time or break his/her arm.


It's important to understand how to blend all of these ways of attacks together and know when each one is applicable. If i am executing attack by combination against a Wing Chun or Krav Maga practitioner and he or she bursts in to nullify my striking range, i still have an opportunity to attack. Why? Through attack by drawing. My opponent has went from my striking range into my grappling and trapping range. I can trap the arms, headbutt, bite, and takedown. I could also do a hip toss and stomp kick to the head. Remember to flow naturally from attack to attack.    

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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http://www.historynet.com/weaponry-samurai-sword.htm

Why martial arts does not mean self defense

Most people (including myself at one point) have a mistaken assumption that to learn self defense, you must practice martial arts. Self defense and martial arts are almost two completely different fields. Here's a list of things that make self defense different from martial arts.

* Self defense is about survival, martial arts is about the art - Not every martial art was created for the purpose of self defense. Tai Chi for example was originally designed for health benefits. Self defense is about survival whereas martial arts is about the preservation of the art whether it's applicable in self defense or not.

* Martial arts has rules, self defense doesn't - Many martial arts practiced today such as Karate, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Taekwon Do, etc. are being used for purposes other than what was originally intended. Many martial arts are sports based as they have point systems and rules such as no kicks to the groin. Self defense has no rules. That means anything goes such as biting, hitting below the waist, eye gouging, weapons, etc.

* Martial arts has form, self defense is fluid - In martial arts, instructors are concerned about you learning proper structure and technique in sparring. In self defense, you survive by any means necessary whether you perform techniques correctly or not. Many martial arts are bound by the limits of their art. If your martial art specializes in close range fighting but not in other ranges, you cannot go beyond those limits without breaking tradition. Self defense is about taking what works effectively and applying it to real combat.

* Martial arts training is unrealistic, self defense isn't - Many martial artists aren't prepared to deal with all sorts of encounters. They practice katas, drills, forms, and fancy techniques that are unrealistic in actual combat. They don't intensely train for armed robbers, weapons, bullies, rapists, killers, all the situations that our modern world faces. Martial artists use tradition or mysticism to come up with solutions for tradition's sake. For example, much of Kali knife fighting has no real world application but is practiced for the preservation of the art. In self defense, you find practical modern day solutions to real problems.

* Self defense teaches the dynamics of combat, martial arts doesn't - Self defense trains you to deal with many variables of combat such as situational awareness, avoidance of conflict, weapons, multiple attackers, stress, adrenaline, emotions, the environment, and so on. Traditional martial arts doesn't and if they do, it's not as extensive as it would be in a self defense setting.


* Martial arts has ranks, self defense doesn't - Many martial arts have a sash or belt system to identify the rank and skill level of it's practitioners. They also instill awards to those members who are most improved. While this is good for improving self confidence and esteem, it doesn't mean anything in the streets. Self defense is about reaching your uttermost potential with no regard for rank so you can survive.

Can you use martial arts for self defense? Yes but you must ensure that you are training for self defense and may have to modify the martial arts you practice for the streets. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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Fight strategies vs. techniques

There are many people going into self defense wondering "which techniques can i use to beat bigger and badder opponents...what's the most effective punch to beating someone in a street fight.." They go into martial arts schools trying to learn how to deal with many different types of attacks. They want to learn techniques, techniques, and more techniques.

The problem is that you won't ever be able to excel in self defense if you rely only on techniques. There are many martial arts and self defense schools that teach techniques but neglect the strategies of self defense. Strategies, principles, and concepts of self defense are far more important than techniques. If you always rely on techniques, you will never become a proficient fighter in self defense. That's why you'll rarely see me teaching you any techniques in my blog posts. Techniques are just the tools to help you achieve a certain goal but they are not the foundation of self defense. You can learn techniques on how to deal with a hook punch or a headlock but if you don't learn certain principles such as keeping distance, balance, when to attack, efficiency, etc. then techniques are worthless. Not all techniques can be applied to every situation so it's important to understand strategy. 

If you must learn techniques, which ones should you learn? The simplest ones. People will try to sell you flashy techniques that look good in demonstration but are impractical in a real street fight. You won't be able to recall everything under high levels of stress. Simplicity and efficiency are what determines whether or not a certain techniques are effective. If you perform a set of fancy techniques, someone can intercept with a simple punch and you'll be knocked out cold. The more simple a technique is, the faster you'll be able to recall it and respond. This applies to boxing, Karate, Wing Chun, Sambo, Krav Maga, Jiu Jitsu, or even basic punches and kicks. This video will help explain more in full detail. 

Why are strategies more important than techniques? Because strategies are the plans to accomplish a specific goal. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you have no guidance in dealing with specific situations, you won't know how and when to apply techniques. If you don't know when and how to apply techniques, you won't be able to apply them at all. Learn strategies, concepts, and principles of self defense. Only then will you be truly wise and able to see many different violent situations more clearly.

I hope that this post gave you some insights into how to improve your training.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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How to train for combat realism

You or someone else has probably been training hard to get in the best possible shape, practicing all the techniques taught in class, and sparring alot. After extensive training, it feels like the student is ready to defend him or herself in the street. When the situation presents itself however, the student may end up getting beaten to a pulp. This is the case for many martial artists and instructors. The reason? Improper training.

You can know all the right moves and have many quick reflexes but if you don't train realistically for combat, what you've learned won't be applicable. If you've been sparring with a Karate fighter, how likely is it for a skilled Karate fighter to attack you? If you've been practicing techniques with a cooperative partner, how likely are you to apply those techniques correctly on a violent person who's not cooperative? If you practice drills, what good will they do in actual combat?

It's unlikely that you will face a skilled fighter training in the same style as you and more likely that you will face an attacker who's reckless. Worse, you may freeze up despite all the training that you did and lose instantly as others have. Learn all the martial arts and techniques you want but they can't save you when you don't train for the streets. Why? Failure to manage stress and other psychological factors such as intimidation. Many street fights don't even begin with attacks, they begin with intimidation and threats on your wellbeing. To illustrate my point, watch the following video taken from "Beyond Scared Straight" and pay close attention to your reactions to the bald large inmate.

How did you feel? Do you think you could confront someone like him face to face? What if suddenly, he started swinging at you with aggressive and relentless brute force? If you can't manage stress in training, your performance suffers when you enter the real world of self defense.

According to Dave Grossman, professor of psychology, high levels of stress impair your ability to perform complex motor skills. In other words, you wouldn't be able to recall what you've learned in class under high levels of stress. How can you train to be combat ready?

1) Get rid of bad habits - Before anything, you must change your perspective on how you view self defense. Stop thinking of it as UFC ring fight because there are no rules in the streets or winning. There won't be time for you to both jump around and figure each other out before you get said person into a submission hold then make him/her tap. This is a fight for survival. You don't know if the other person is armed, has friends, is on drugs, so on. Be sure to also not look at combat from a point of techniques. Principles are far more important. Techniques are just tools to help you accomplish your goals rather than being the foundation of self defense. Practice effective and simple techniques. Flashy techniques look good but are often impractical and too complicated to perform under stress.

2) Simulate real combat - Combat systems such as Krav Maga and other military forces simulate as much of the real world combat as possible. According to Gestalt principles in psychology, we tend to see patterns in similar objects. The more you intensely train under stress in training as if your life was at stake, the more you'll retain what you've learned and perform at your full potential. If you've mastered sparring with a partner using the same style as you, try someone of a different style. Try sparring with people of different sizes, of different levels of violence, etc. Spar with multiple attackers. Do mock scenarios where you will be ambushed suddenly with seemingly real weapons or unarmed attackers. Keep it as free as possible making sure your practicing good form, following principles, and proper techniques.

3) Practice stress management - During training, you would want to also practice managing your stress. Have a partner or several try as hard as they can to intimidate you as you keep your cool under pressure. In Dave Grossman's book on combat, a study was done on three groups of rats put under stress. The first was dropped in a tub of water and it took 60 hours for them to drown. The second group was only held upside down above the water to create stress. After they were done freaking out, they slowly calmed themselves. They lasted 20 minutes before drowning. The last group was put under the same treatment except they were put back into their cages to recuperate. This was repeated several times until the rats got accustomed to it. Stress inoculation therapy is a great method in changing the way you view yourself and help manage your levels of stress under intense situations. Use a method called tactical breathing which involves taking one deep breath and holding it for 4 seconds before exhaling then repeating the same process three times. This technique is used by snipers in order to improve accuracy and focus.

Above all, have a strong willpower to endure everything you go through. Fight with everything you have because your life is at stake. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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Question your self defense instructor

If you question what your self defense instructor is teaching, it does not make you a bad student. On the contrary, it makes you an excellent student because you are thinking critically. It's true that having no techniques in self defense can get you killed but having the wrong set of techniques can also get you killed. Self defense instructors can be misguided. Even the content i write could also be misguided. How would you figure it out?

There are consequences of accepting everything your self defense instructor says on the basis that he/she is a certified teacher. I was reading on Reddit a story of a Muay Thai student who was assaulted by two men and did a clinch on one of them. Too late did he realize that the attacker had a knife and stabbed him twice. Outraged, he went to his teacher and blamed him for not warning him that the clinch was impractical in a street fight. His teacher told him he wasn't supposed to until after the fact it happened. As a result, the Muay Thai student lost one of his lungs and could never practice martial arts or any self defense again.

Self defense is a science. It involves testing and principles. Credentials don't mean much especially when the instructor has been teaching impractical techniques that don't simulate real life combat. Regardless of what martial art or combat system you practice whether it's Krav Maga, Mauy Thai, Karate, Wing Chun, or Silat; you should ultimately ask yourself - Is what i'm learning realistic and effective? What are the pitfalls? How can i properly test the techniques on a sparring partner whos not cooperative and get the same results? Is there a more effective way to get the job done? By thinking critically and gaining wisdom, you won't be able to fooled so easily. In conclusion, i hope that you take the time to search for the truth and remember...don't take everything i write at face value because you never know if i'm mistaken.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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What is the best martial art for self defense?

What is the best martial art for self defense? 

You've probably heard many talks of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga, Judo, Karate, Muay Thai, kickboxing, Wing Chun, and other martial arts of being the best for self defense. What's the best martial arts for self defense? The answer is simple and straightforward - there is none.

There's no martial art that triumphs over all. Each martial art has its own pros and cons. No style is superior or inferior over another. There are however times when certain techniques and principles only apply in competition rather than in self defense. It all depends on the skill of the user. 

Bruce Lee, one of the most inspirational martial artists, once said "man, the individual, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system."

The best advice I can give you is to embrace all martial arts and take lessons from each one. Practice a martial art that suits you and your physical wellbeing. As long as certain techniques are practical in certain situations, apply them. Learn to see martial arts as a set of tools to aid you instead of fighting styles to use at your disposal. Master using martial arts effectively rather than search for the most effective martial art.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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How to effectively train for self defense

How to effectively train for self defense:

Self defense is the science of taking measures to protect one's own health and life. The problem with many self defense instructors is that they are too accustomed to teaching techniques and drills that are useless in the streets. You can practice techniques but if you fail to condition yourself to survive and adapt when they fail, you will get seriously hurt or killed. Effective self defense relies on fundamental principles more than techniques. That being said, i hope that my tips will help you in creating effective training.

* Learn unarmed combat - Whether it's martial arts or other unarmed combat systems, you will want to learn the fighting art that you are most comfortable with. To gain a better understanding of how armed combat works, it's helpful to understand how to defend yourself unarmed. There is no "one size fits all" to self defense. If you managed to throw a punch that your self defense instructor taught you and you ward off your attacker then good but what if you miss? By learning hand-to-hand combat, you will know how to deal with those situations.

* Work out with purpose - Don't just get muscular or physically fit, have a purpose for why you want to get physically fit and build muscles. Muscles may actually hinder your self defense training. Instead, focus on learning which muscles and physical abilities are useful in self defense. Learn which muscles are responsible for improving punching and kicking power then work those out. Work on balance, speed, agility, strength, stamina, and other essentials to self defense using various exercises.

* Choose quality practice over quantity - When i was a boy, i used to practice Karate high kicks but could never do them right because i didn't understand them. Don't just practice a technique without understanding. Understand what your practicing and why. Focus on using proper form and techniques as you incorporate it in your muscle memory rather than winning a sparring session. Push hard but not too hard. Train smarter not harder.

* Absorb what is useful and discard what isn't - As Bruce Lee said "absorb what is useful and discard what is useless. Add what is uniquely your own." There are many self defense "how to" guides teaching you how to defend yourself of a particular situation such as a gun disarm. While there are great techniques, there are also ones that are completely ineffective. There are many martial art techniques used in sports such as MMA which work well in those situations but when applied in self defense, they are useless. For example, using a Brazilian Jiu Jutsu armbar would work well in a competition but wouldn't work well in the street because you leave your whole body exposed to attack. As a student of self defense, you must have discernment. What techniques are best suited for self defense vs sport or training? You can pay a self defense instructor to teach you techniques but the questions you ought to be asking are - Is it simple? How simple? Are these techniques effective? How effective? Are they practical? How practical? Are they efficient? How efficient? Are they realistic? How realistic? Question the authority. Credentials won't mean much if you end up killed for using impractical techniques in a lethal circumstances. Therefore it is best to figure out for yourself as a fighter which techniques are practical and which aren't.

* Adapt to various situations - While you can learn techniques and practice sparring drills for many hours, you won't be able to apply them in self defense if you do not adapt. There are many variables that could alter the outcome of an attack on the street thus it's important to train in various situations without rehearsals. For example, if you've learned to disarm a gunman at close range then how would you respond to a gunman who pulled out his gun and fired from a longer distance? Adapting to every situation is crucial in self defense and you must be conditioned to it in training. If you practiced sparring with one partner then practice sparring with multiple attackers. Train sparring opponents with practice guns, knives, bats, etc. Spar with boxers and other types of fighters. Practice mock scenarios where you are forced to expect the unexpected and remember to keep certain principles in mind.


* Learn how to avoid conflict - Many self defense instructors teach the physical aspects of self defense but self defense can also be verbal, psychological, emotional, and mental. People will insult you and provoke you to attack so you must practice self control while not allowing your enemy to harm you with words. There are also cues and signs indicating a potential threat. Learning to diffuse a situation before it gets violent is more skilled than fighting itself.

I sure hope that these tips will greatly aid you in your training for self defense. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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