How you train is how you will respond in a real life threatening situation but remember just because you have trained for a situation doesn't mean you're necessarily prepared for it if you're training habits are self defeating. You are also only half as good as when you are training when it comes to defending yourself in the real world. You have to make your self defense training realistic and you have to make it count. So here are some tips.
Instructors: Having a teacher who has had first hand experience with violence and understands the effects adrenaline plays on the body is who you as a student want to learn from. Individuals such as bouncers, bodyguards, military personnel and ex convicts will give you realistic tactics that will work in a full out violent attack because they themselves have experienced violence and know what works and what doesn't. The last person you want to be taught by is from an instructor who runs a strip mall martial arts dojo. They focus on technique, tournaments, and trophies, have had usually no experience with violence and just work on the basis of "guess work" theory.
Clothing: Train wearing clothing that you would normally wear while going about your everyday life. You don't have time before a street fight to take your shoes off, put on a white martial arts uniform and stretch before your enemy attacks you. Clothing will restrict your range of motion and the speed of your techniques. You should be practicing your techniques while wearing jeans, boots/shoes and a jacket on to give you a realistic feel of what it's like to fight with restrictive clothing on.
Training Environments: Train in real world environments, set up your training area as an apartment and back ally setting. Try to have objects and furniture such as bricks, bottles chairs in your environment made of plastic, foam or sponge so you don't injure your partner while using them. This way you will learn how to fight in confined areas such as inside a house, night club or back alley and use your immediate environment to take out your attacker. There are weapons always around us, if you can pick it up, use it to beat the snot out of your attacker.
Note: The issue of training in martial artists dojo's is that practitioners are used to fighting in large wide open spaces, put furniture around them and they lose focus on their attacker and begin focusing on how restrictive the areas that they are in.
Weapons Disarming Training: When training in weapons disarming train with rubber knives that have ink, food dye or lip stick on the blade, that way you will see where you were cut. Perform random attacks on your partner so they do not know what weapon you will use and when you will pull it out just like in the real world. After my students become proficient in "static" or "stationary" knife disarming techniques, I then begin using a real knife while training with them this way they mentally condition themselves not to freeze up when cold steel is presented to them.
It's a great way to mentally condition yourself so you are not afraid of knives. I highly stress that you only train this way with someone who has complete control when using a knife. This exercise is not for amateurs, for you can seriously injure or kill someone using this training method, this should only be practiced by a highly skilled instructor.
When executing gun disarming techniques use airsoft guns, this way you can see if you got shot while trying to disarm your attacker. Remember to use protective goggles and masks when training in this method. When practicing pipe, pool cue and machete disarming tactics, use pipe insulation. This will do the job. It's soft on impact. This way, you can swing the pipe insulation at full speed using your full range of motion without worrying about hurting your partner.
Weapons Training: When it comes to weapons training do not get caught up training with weapons that were used two hundred years ago. No one walks around with bo staffs, samurai swords or kama's any more. Learn how to use modern day weapons such as batons, knives, and pepper spray. Practice drawing your weapon during training sessions and pulling it out while your partner randomly attacks you. Use weapons made of rubber, foam and containers filled with water to represent pepper spray.
Crisis Rehearsal: Randomize your attacks just like in a real world situation. You must learn how to improvise to become a skilled street fighter. Your training partner should not tell you how or when the attack is going to happen. It may start off on your feet but it may end up on the ground. While on the ground your partner might pull out a needle, knife or gun. Also train against multiple attackers so you know what to do in situations such as these.
Triggering: Before executing your street fighting tactics you want to trigger your "killer instinct mindset" so you become aggressive and control fear. What you want to do is get angry before executing your tactics, this way you are angry and fear doesn't set in when you are threatened. By having a trigger image, word or a piece of music that goes off in your head and makes you angry before executing your techniques correlates a habitual response to become angry when a threat occurs and before you execute your tactics. Remember we respond just like how we train.
Norm Bettencourt is the creator of the TACT Self Defense Street Fighting System which specializes in tactical management skills in how to deal with modern day threats of violence. Visit http://www.tactselfdefense.com for more information
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