tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post6936270950286278419..comments2024-01-18T02:55:46.340-08:00Comments on beautifully dangerous: minimal input in learning self-defense does NOT equal maximum outputTammyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04600539516918179668noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post-7228184955929597132018-02-28T08:30:26.395-08:002018-02-28T08:30:26.395-08:00Enjoyed reading the article above, really explains...Enjoyed reading the article above, really explains everything in detail for self defense techniques, , the article is very interesting and effective.Thank you and good luck for the upcoming articles.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05933253257525088918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post-4354525650315337202017-09-14T12:59:57.051-07:002017-09-14T12:59:57.051-07:00Thanks for the reply, and yes, I must agree with y...Thanks for the reply, and yes, I must agree with you once again; for the majority self defence is purely the physical realm of things which is simply not the case. This is compounded by situations you just described where people attend a 2 day cert and teach self defence to people looking to be safer but have no real idea on what they need or who they can trust. I try to give the very best to my students but it can be very frustrating. <br /><br />Anyway, thanks again for the response. I appreciate you taking the time to further discuss the points. GU1 Strength and Conditioninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02108745497701131859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post-25695788338400969182017-09-14T10:18:49.472-07:002017-09-14T10:18:49.472-07:00Valid point. Writing this post was a response to p...Valid point. Writing this post was a response to people looking for the physical skills specifically. The mental and awareness education can be presented in a day - at least at the cursory level. Enough to provide the information and then the student can choose to apply it in daily life or not. Working from the orientation of the expectations that come from the requests - they are looking for the physical skills and are often surprised to learn it is, in fact, a skill and not a product to purchase and "own". <br /><br />Case in point, fielded a phone call this morning from a female who wanted to know how to earn a "certificate" in self-defense. Cognitively, she equated earning a certificate as verification she was skilled in the physical aspects and could then turn and teach those skills. When we talked about how self-defense also involved much of what you mention above (and one of the things I love about being part of the teaching team with Rory, Terry etc. with Violence Dynamics) - she was really surprised. <br /><br />Most of the phone calls I field along these lines become educational opportunities in and of themselves and it frustrates me that somewhere "out there" someone is perpetuating these myths about learning personal protection skills. Ah well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.Tammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600539516918179668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post-17683019588945600352017-09-14T10:10:59.161-07:002017-09-14T10:10:59.161-07:00indeed-indeed-Tammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600539516918179668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post-7818264261106811412017-09-09T01:54:58.163-07:002017-09-09T01:54:58.163-07:00Interesting piece and some very valid points, how...Interesting piece and some very valid points, however I find myself respectfully having to disagree with the conclusion; I think you can teach self defence in a day. I think the difference just comes in how we are defining the term.<br /><br />I will agree, both students and instructors do often think they can get by on minimal physical training and be good at fighting, the classic student who gets to P1 then quits training because they "know enough". Then, likewise, the instructor who gives a 4 hour beginner seminar and spends the whole time teaching gun disarms because it's cool. Both are wrong. It takes training and dedication to get up to the level of proficiency to do those well. <br /><br />Why am I disagreeing then? Because these are the physical aspects of self defence, which is where we, as both instructor and students, get mentally stuck in our definition. It fighting, but fighting isn't self defence. It's part of it, but unlike combat sports, isn't the totality of the thing. In a short seminar I will have extreme difficulty teaching knife, gun, stick, choke defences (etc) to a high degree of competence; what I can teach, however, are the 360/inside defences, I can teach Tony Blauer's SPEAR System flinch conversion or Rory Miller's counter assault strategies and running away to a pretty high degree of effectiveness. <br /><br />I can also teach the other two thirds of self defence. I can teach the detection of the signals of the build up to violence, I can teach what to look for and where. I can teach how to avoid the danger by not being in certain places at certain times or by learning to listen to the body's danger signals. I can teach them to be a hard target through body language and awareness. That's self defence - "the ability to choose safety when danger is imminent" (Tony Blauer).<br /><br />Teach them Miller's "Logic of Violence" or DeBecker's "Gift of Fear" information. Teach them Tony Blauer's D1 and D2 skills and fear management stuff. Hell, I'd even argue that just putting them through the ConCom course is an effective use of the time because it gives them the mental tools and mindset to detect, defuse and evade the danger before it goes physical. That's part and parcel of self defence. <br /><br />I can do CPR. It took me a 4 hour course. Does it make me a doctor? No, of course not, but I can save a life. I think this is the same. No, I can't get to Expert 1 or black belt in 4 hours, but I can learn some effective physical and mental self defence skills. If after that the student realises he/she wants to learn the physical skill to a deeper level then that's great, but if all I do in 4 hours is teach them how to be safer then, yes, I have given them a good class in that short time that may well save their life. <br /><br />Albert DeSalvo used to flee from victims who even put up the slightest of fight for fear of being caught, and as Tony Blauer says "there are more people who have successfully defended themselves through sheer will and indignation, with no training whatsoever, than there are trained people who have been attacked and successfully defended themselves". These people don't even have 4 hours under their belt but they did "self defence". <br /><br />So, respectfully, that's where I disagree. I agree, I can't teach someone to FIGHT well in 4 hours, I can, however, teach them to fight BACK well and run if needed, and to learn to spot and avoid the dangers in the first place.GU1 Strength and Conditioninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02108745497701131859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3000911132009365087.post-60623546400016604942017-09-07T07:32:13.015-07:002017-09-07T07:32:13.015-07:00I feel your pain! I've been mulling over the r...I feel your pain! I've been mulling over the reasons (excuses) why people aren't willing to put in the time, make sacrifices for excellence... in anything... much less self defense or martial arts. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808135647636941092noreply@blogger.com