subject: Self-defense Training - Why You Will Always Lose In A Street Self Defense Attack If You Fight Fair [print this page] Are you serious about getting the self-defense training you need to protect yourself and survive a real world attack? Then, you must make sure that you're learning the right lessons.
The fact is that a brutal attack on the street is very different from the controlled, rule-laden environment of a sport competition. This is true, regardless of whether we're talking about boxing, Olympic wrestling, or a mixed martial arts fight.
I've heard my fair share of arguments - especially in the world of karate and martial arts - that the ring is the perfect place to test your skills. Regardless of the fact that the "ring" is rife with rules and predetermined criteria designed to foster fair play, rather than survival!
Remember, if you're using a strategy based on rules, and he isn't - you're going to find it very difficult to win in a real-world, street attack.
That being said, there's also another consideration to the "fair-play" illusion that you need to consider when preparing for self-defense. In fact, if you ignore this very important reality, you will find out the hard way that you never stood a chance to begin with.
What I'm talking about is the fact that, if you find that you're the victim of an attack...
...your attacker has already set things up in his favor. Or...
...he chose you because you were weaker, smaller, less armed, or somehow the underdog against what he decided to throw at you!
Remember, in an organized sport competition, before the fighters ever step into the ring, there are certain standards and prerequisites that they have to meet and qualify against. Things like:
Size
Age
Gender
Weight
Rank
Skill/Experience
Class
Etc.
The "fairness" of a sporting event starts WAY before the contenders ever step into the ring, octagon, or whatever arena that serves as the competition paradigm.
On the contrary, the victim of a self defense attack most often finds him or herself matched exactly opposite their attacker. Add to this the possible inclusion of weapons, "third-party" rules, policies, and regulations (as is the case of police officers, security, and even employees attacked in a workplace violence incident), and multiple attackers - and you have a situation that lacks all sense of "fairness" from the very beginning!
So...to believe that you can "fight fair" in a self-defense situation when the attacker(s) went out of their way to insure that it WOULDN'T be fair goes beyond all reason. In fact, it borders on the ignorant and insane!
