(Approx 1 minute 55 second read)

There is so much phony self-defense out there: demonstrations in which a defender successfully intercepts an attack – a punch, a kick, or a knife stab – and then “destroys” the attacker with ease.
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The defense just wouldn’t work against anyone other than a cooperating partner – and the follow-up, should it even be possible, is so unrealistic that it exposes the defender to further attacks.
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However, being a proficient, intuitive fighter will obviously help if you do have to fight. Good fighters are calm, relaxed, hard to upset, and thus hard to provoke and draw into a confrontation.
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And this is a really important distinction. Those schools that simply teach to fight first could be drawn into a confrontation without thought.
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Real violence is fast, dynamic, chaotic, and ugly. If you’re demonstrating an application from kata, there has to be some resistance and failure. Too many instructors are showing these demonstrations successfully every time. You have to show what happens when it fails too – ‘winning’ all the time is ridiculous.
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Real violence is not something you want to face, for a variety of physical, ethical, and legal reasons. Most martial arts will not prepare you for it.
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Self-defense and martial arts are related and often interlinked, but they are NOT the same. I repeat this so many times, with the hope that someone somewhere will look again at what they are practicing. There are no secrets or ultimate techniques. Real skill in physical self-defense requires not only techniques, but also working with principles, functional training methods, and strategies.
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Self-defense is not what most people think it is. The goal in self-defense is to prevent injury to yourself (or others) and to survive. Most of the time – actually, the vast majority of the time – physical techniques are not the best way to do that.
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The best way to avoid injury is to prevent an attack from occurring in the first place, to prevent a physical conflict.
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But if you have no choice but to fight, make sure your practice has prepared you for it, because some of these demonstrations will leave you in big trouble.
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The Borg (Star Trek) once said, ‘Resistance is futile’ – but it isn’t. You have to show it – how often do you see it in a demonstration? Rarely, you have to prepare for it, and practice for it.
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When things go wrong – and they will – you need options and strategies that are tested in the heat of resistance. Real self-defense isn’t about flawless technique or perfect execution; it’s about adaptability, resilience, and surviving when the situation spirals out of control. Train for reality, not for show, because when it matters most, there won’t be a second chance.
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Written by AC.
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Photo Credit: Stockcake