subject: Is This Art Good For Self Defense? Part 1 [print this page] This is part 1 of a 2 part article from Richard Dimitri's acclaimed book 'In Total Defense Of The Self' which has been dubbed one of the best books ever written on self defense! Reproduced here under Authority
There seems to be a lot of questions like these popping up, especially on Internet forums. More often than not, it is the practitioner that makes it happen, the style, range or tool that was used is incidental. However, this isn't true for many, this is the exception to the rule and not the rule itself. There are people out there who can make Tae Kwon Do work in the streets, this doesn't mean TKD would be the choice art for enhancing survivability.
In order for an art or system to enhance your chances at surviving a real fight, a real violent confrontation, an attempted rape, mugging or murder, it is essential for this art or system to be rooted in reality.
This art has to be 3 dimensional. It has to properly (not adequately, not dabble in) but properly and fully deal with the emotional, psychological, and physical aspects in terms that replicate how real fights start, why they start, which attacks are the most common, how intention to action begins, etc.
Too many times the word 'sparring' comes up... "we spar hard", "we spar against various styles" etc. when was the last time you saw or heard of a rapist strap on a pair of 12 ounce boxing gloves, set a 3 minute time limit prior to raping a woman in the entrance of her own home?
Ask yourself the following questions and answer them honestly without thinking about how you train or any martial art in question. Matter of fact, take the time to answer these questions with complete honesty and to the best of your abilities prior to reading on
What is a real violent confrontation?
Who are the most likely to be attacked?
How will you most likely be attacked?
What frame of mind will you be in when you are attacked?
Should you be concerned about the Tai Chi expert attacking you? Should you be concerned about the golden gloves champion attacking you or maybe the last UFC champion?
The real threats are the rapists, the muggers, the random bullies and ego jocks, the road rage incidents, the potential murderers, spousal & parental abuse etc.
The difference between the dojo and the street is the unknown. Remember, awareness, consent and preparation will not be present. Your attacker will not be squaring off you; he is not there to "spar". Therefore the mind set is that of surprise and the attack is usually sudden when one is ill prepared and most always starts with an attack on the mind, which triggers emotional inertia. A person's ability to perform certain techniques that require fine or complex motor skills greatly diminishes while under attack. On the other hand, gross motor skills such as grabbing, tearing, ripping, striking, biting are not only not affected during high stress situations, they are enhanced thanks to mother nature's hard wiring of our survival mechanism.
You want to know if your system will enhance your survival during a serious violent attack that triggered the mind and caused emotional inertia prior to you even being touched? How do you train? Does your training replicate reality YES or NO?
What is reality? Go to your nearest 'hard reputed' club or bar on a Friday or Saturday night and simply observe the behavior, the initiation, the escalation and the treacherous development of a few fights. See if any of the participants "spar", stand at 4 or 5 feet away from each other first and square off. Check it out and compare it to the training that you do.
You'll notice several things. You'll notice that while someone is being grabbed with feral anger, he is also being severely verbally aggressed. You'll probably also notice that one or two or even more of his friends are standing behind him screaming and yelling for him to kill you. You'll probably also notice that you are instinctively grabbing him back trying to maintain your space and that the words coming out of your mouth are for the most part, not exactly defusing the situation...
Is this how you trained the 2 arm lapel grab last time in class? Or was it just you and your class partner while he grabbed you in a 2 arm lapel grab with some degree of force but simply stood there waiting for you to execute your technique?
What about other attacks? Which one's do you spend more time on training?
This is the end of part 1 of this article. Be sure to check out part 2 which is available now. To get your hands on a copy of 'In Total defense Of The Self' visit www.senshido-self-defense.com
