Defining Self Defense
Every instructor will have their own opinion about self-defense. What is acceptable and what is not? Where they draw the line between excessive force and protecting yourself. And that is OK. Everyone is entitled to their own value or belief system. But when it comes to self-defense, I believe there are only two kinds, effective and ineffective. I determine that difference by saying if you walk away, you are safe, you got to go home. Then what you did was effective.
How do you know if what you are doing is effective? You have to pressure test it. If you only talk about things in theory, then how do you know how well it works? When your partner always lets go for you or just goes along with what you are doing, are you doing it right? If you get grabbed and your partner stares at you or they throw a punch and freeze like a statue, how can you correlate that to a serious situation?
My Opinion
Before going into any further conversation, these are just my opinions. Everyone trains for different reasons. And if I say something that offends you and your feelings on the way you train, understand that I don’t have a problem with anything other than being taught something under a pretense. Having confidence in what you do is great. You should. Having confidence in something that may get you hurt or worse, is not ok. You should have a realistic idea of what you are practicing. It is also okay to ask your instructor about things if you feel you may have doubts.
Adding Pressure
What is pressure testing when it comes to training? When you defend against a punch, is there ever the opportunity for your partner to make contact? Not saying you have to wail on one another’s faces but contact even at a low capacity speaks volumes. If you are working against a grab, are you being pushed or pulled away? Does the attacker use their free hand (if they have one) to swing? Adding stress to training gives you not just an idea of if the technique works, but how you will react. If you have never been hit before, what happens when your partner gives you some love? When you are in training for self-defense, you owe it to yourself to test out what you do.
There can be many levels of pressure training. You can treat it as a game where have to tag your partner’s head or even see how many grabs you can escape in a certain time limit. But some level of pressure is needed. Push your partners to be harder on you and do the same for them. You need at least some resistance. At the end of the day, it is your job to make sure that if your partner needs to use something that you worked on together, it works.
My thoughts. My feelings. My opinions. If anyone would like to discuss some drills or ways to start incorporating this mindset into training, please feel free to shoot me an email.
info@mnsamartialarts.com
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