Okay, a lot of people train martial arts. Some for Personal Protection, some for the art others for Competition and the list goes on. What is the reality of Personal Protection? It could be someone defending their home from a home invasion or someone protecting themselves from being mugged on the subway. It could be a Law Enforcement officer protecting themselves during a Use of Force or military personnel protecting a base. Personal Protection can mean a lot of different things. However one thing is for certain it can involve weapons, empty hands, grappling and it probably won’t happen in a Training Hall.  Vehicles, objects, building dynamics could be involved. Does your training cover this? Does your training take into account firearms, knives, baseball bat? What about awareness and avoidance? A lot of Personal Protection is observing and heightened awareness and then avoidance. If your good at that then you have really reduced the chance of having to use physical skills to defend yourself.

Then individual people will need certain skills or techniques that accentuate their body dynamics.  You can’t teach a young twenty one year old male exactly the same way you would teach a fifty six year old female.  They have different needs and abilities.  A seventy year old man may need different skills or strategy than a young alpha male.  Each person is unique and will need some individualized training and skill set development.  Not to mention mental training and development.  Not everyone is the same but everyone can learn Personal Protection skills!

In the past there were lots of instructors claiming they had been in lots of street fights. Really, it was absurd.  The question I would put to you is if they were in a lot of street fights, then their probably not a good person to be around. They didn’t learn the soft active skills of observing and avoiding. Sure they might have some physical skills that could be useful to learn but if you are in a lot of street fights then you have some serious emotional and mental issues. Maybe not the best person to learn from or even be around. There are plenty of professionals who are in positions that require the use of force. These people have a lot of experience to learn from if they can translate it to what civilians need. Same for the military but once again it has to be reframed for what civilians need and can legally do. If you have to defend yourself or your loved ones you need to be able to work within what is allowed under the law. In any encounter there is everything that leads up to it, the encounter and the aftermath. A good trainer will walk you through all three stages. This is essential…

See You On The Mats, Streets, Restaurants And More!!!