Everything Self Defense: self defense training

Showing posts with label self defense training. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Building character in self defense

Just as it's important to build your skills in self defense, it's also important to build up character. Building integrity, honesty, compassion, humility, responsibility, patience, kindness, honor, and much more qualities. Building character is what's most important in self defense training.

Why is this important? Because sometimes, people misuse the skills they've learned in self defense or hand to hand combat to bully and intimidate others. Other times, self defense instructors have an arrogant approach to self defense and martial arts use in real combat. There are those who believe they are the only ones who are knowledgeable on self defense based on their credentials and if they can't solve a problem then no one can. It's hard to believe that those trained in self defense combat would misuse what they've learned but it does happen regardless. What is the way to combat this mentality? How do we stop people from misusing their skills in combat?

First, recognize that evil men no matter how trained will not be able to overcome a highly skilled fighter with strong character. Why? Bullies tend to target those weaker than them because they feel inadequate in themselves. Those who are truly confident and highly skilled recognize they don't need to prove themselves to anyone else. They don't need to compete against others. They only train to be better than they were in the past. They train to conquer their own demons, fears, and insecurities. Those who misuse their self defense training in arrogance cannot see their own faults and will ultimately stumble over them. A humble warrior recognizes his or her strengths, acknowledges his or her faults, and constantly grows with an open mind. A humble warrior who is truly skilled and knowledgeable accepts new ideas. An arrogant person can learn techniques, attacks, and other skills but cannot grow on the same level because he or she is blinded by the deception that his or her way is the only right one. Someone who is arrogant and believes only his or her approach to self defense is the only supreme one has a self limiting mindset. He or she will go no further into new heights of self awareness against someone with the humility to embrace endless possibilities.

Take a look at this video of an MMA fighter who harasses a girl in a store, not realizing that her associates see him from the outside and are angered by his actions. They get into a fight and it seems that the MMA fighter is winning until they bring weapons. He gets hit in the back of the head and gets hospitalized. What's the lesson here? Someone who is truly a skilled warrior seeks to influence others and build bridges for a better world. He or she makes friends not enemies and that is ultimately, one of the most powerful methods of self defense. Someone who demands respect from those around him/her and makes enemies eventually finds an enemy who defeats him or her. How do we stop people from misusing their own skills in combat? We don't. They will meet their own demise in their blind arrogance and evil actions.

While it's almost impossible to prevent someone with evil intent from misusing his or her training, you choose your own destiny. Will you choose the path to arrogance, impatience, intolerance, hate, anger, lack of integrity, and ultimately meet your own demise? Will you choose the path to humility, open-mindedness, patience, virtue, compassion, and honesty to attain new heights never achieved before? If you choose the path to righteous living, practice these virtues everywhere you go with everyone you meet. Only then will you build strong character in self defense and go beyond your own limits.

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Tuesday, December 20, 2016

My way to Jeet Kune Do

As a Wing Chun practitioner, i sought the way i thought that was ideal for me. I believed that Wing Chun would help me become the ideal warrior that is until i realized it's limitations. Traditional Wing Chun footwork is solid and strong no doubt. Wing Chun sifus teach that as long as your footwork is mobile, you don't need to waste too much time on footwork. Simply step back and close the gap. I soon found that if faced with an attacker who has a more free moving footwork like a wrestler, how can you expect to end the threat quickly in a Wing Chun stance? The traditional Wing Chun fighting footwork would not be able to respond to those types of situations. When i stumbled across Master Wong's Wing Chun teachings on youtube explaining that Wing Chun must evolve in order to face those situations, i soon realized one of the flaws in the way Wing Chun was being taught today. Wing Chun sifus might counter this by saying "when confronted with an opponent seeking to compromise your balance, simply maintain it and close the gap.." but it's hard to do when your opponent moves faster than you and will probably knock you over with their powerful attacks. Wing Chun's systematic weakness is groundfighting so if your on the ground, you would have no way to defend yourself against a BJJ fighter! If the only way to respond effectively to the systematic weaknesses of Wing Chun is being more free in movements, what does that say about traditional Wing Chun?

I soon realized that every style has it's own systematic flaws. Even moreso, many martial arts have strayed from realistic self defense training and more into other uses such as sports or health-related fitness training. It was when i stumbled across Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do that i realized this was what i was seeking. Having no way as way and no limitation as limitation. Bruce Lee's guiding thought was absorbing what was useful and discarding what wasn't. Jeet Kune Do's training was rooted in full contact no holds barred sparring to train for combat realism.

Jeet Kune Do is a fighting philosophy not a style but there exists two distinct schools of Jeet Kune Do. The first which seeks to preserve Bruce Lee's fighting style, Jun Fan Gung Fu as a means of teaching Jeet Kune Do. The second school loosely applies Jeet Kune Do concepts to any martial arts and develops the individual fighter. I learned that the term "Jeet Kune Do" is just a name. Some call Jeet Kune Do the original MMA, modified Wing Chun, modified boxing, etc. but in reality, Jeet Kune Do cannot be clearly defined. Bruce Lee intended it to be a personal journey of self discovery. Only when you embark on this journey that you begin to understand the meaning of Jeet Kune Do.

Bruce Lee saw that each style was confined to one particular fighting range (close range, long range, grappling range, trapping range) but no one style had all the answers to each situation. Thus he believed that the ideal martial artist should be proficient in all ranges and borrow from any simple techniques irrespective of style. Jeet Kune Do is about seeing reality from different perspectives and being fluid. The way of the intercepting fist appealed to me because it served as a defense by being a powerful offense unlike Wing Chun sifus training you to deflect with one hand while using the other to attack. What most appealed to me about Jeet Kune Do aside from freedom of expression is it's philosophy of adapting to every situation and evolving as an individual.

It is my personal conviction that the Jeet Kune Do philosophy will help people reach their full potential especially in the field of self defense. As i walk on the path to finding the true meaning of Jeet Kune Do, i hope to discover the essence of my identity and what lies beyond.

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Friday, November 11, 2016

Self Defense against a gunman

Self Defense against a gunman:

We've been told that when we are confronted with a gunman, we ought to comply with his demands and no amount of training in hand-to-hand combat would be effective but i beg to differ.

Your average gunman is unskilled in using a gun. A common mistake that many gunman make is to approach a victim at close range with the gun pressed against him or her. This gives you an opportunity to perform a gun disarm.

Pay close attention to how an armed robber with a shotgun approaches this man at such a close range and in a flash, the robber is disarmed.

What are the key factors in a successful gun disarm?

a) Speed - If your not quick to disarm an attacker, you will likely be shot. The faster you can remove the gun from a gunman's hands, the better chances you have of survival.

b) Deception - Usually, gunmen will assume that their targets will likely comply with their demands because they have a gun. Armed robbers will likely exert their power by coming close to you with the weapon pointed at you and assume that your weak. Many self defense videos and self defense instructors teach gun disarms at close range but neglect the communication aspect of these situations. How would you perform a gun disarm on gunmen who keep their distance? One tactic is deception. Give the appearance that your weak and that it's safe to approach you. Comply to the gunman's demands if he/she is trying to rob you by force. Communicate with them. Make distractions and once their focus is momentarily off the gun, disarm them.

C) Efficiency - Many self defense instructors teach you complicated moves and strikes expecting them to work in a violent situation. The truth of the matter is you may not have enough time or opportunity to use those techniques in a real situation. The last thing you want is to wrestle and fight over the gun only to have the gunman shoot you. What's the best way to deal with these situations? Simplicity and efficiency in movement. It's better to disarm a gunman with only the necessary force to break their grip on the gun and move away from the gunman than to fight over it.

d) Control - A gun's line of fire can only move in a straight line. Your focus should be on the person controlling the weapon. It's important to control the limb holding the gun rather than the weapon itself. If you try to grab hold of the weapon instead of grabbing hold of the gunman's arm and redirect the line of fire before a disarm, you will be shot. It's important to control the arm and break it if need be in order to retrieve the gun.

e) Vision - A gunman's vision is very important in shooting. If a gunman's vision is obstructed by objects and buildings, you have the upper hand in performing a gun disarm or preferably escaping. In this video, a gunman walks into a building and does not see a student in a room across from him. As the gunman reloads his weapon, the student rushes out blinding his vision with pepper spray and tackling him for a gun disarm. A gunman's vision can be the difference between life and death.

d) Plan ahead - The best way to deal with a gunman is to already have a plan in place. Pay close attention to your surroundings and opportunities to make your move. Don't simply run away from the attacker - have an idea of where you are running to. You don't want to run from a gunman only to face a dead end. Adapt to the situation and you will be able to deal with any type of gunmen.

In this example, a gunman places a gun to a Thai man's head. The gunman did not understand Thai which gave the hostage an advantage to communicate with police. The hostage distracted him and once the gunman's line of fire was redirected away from him, the hostage disarmed him quickly.

Practice gun disarms with a partner holding a rubber or toy gun. Do a variety of mock scenarios. Train intensely so that if a real situation with a gunman presents itself, you are physically and emotionally ready to deal with it.