What's your flavored kool-aide?

Can it be that simple? After the last training session with another local police department they were shocked at the effectiveness of two techniques, the edge of hand and the hand yoke.

The men were 10 plus year vets, martial artists and military and still had never seen anything like the program. I'm glad I'm in a position to help the good guys.

But this brings us to the too simple...too good to be true, there has to be something more. But when it comes to self defense...there isn't.

The martial arts model depends on the ability to keep people involved for years and years and invest escalating dollars and an incredible amount of time. I have said time and time again, martial arts is a method of improving yourself from the outside in. 3 Black belts and 8 degrees later, I would be a HUGE hypocrite if I said that martial arts were a waste of time. They are not, as long as you know exactly what you're getting.

1992 saw a huge shift in martial arts in the US. After the first UFC people got a first taste of how effective their training was and the misconception of what they were learning. This is something wrestlers, Judo players, boxers and kick boxers knew all along. The Gracies were the first to do it in the US (kudos there). If judo did this you would have had the same result.

After that point you had a split: the MMA crowd and the Self Defense crowd. MMA, like other sports is easily measured in its effectiveness. You win, you lose, you tap, you don't.

Self defense is not easily measured. You only know for sure if you are attacked and our methods work. This doesn't happen everyday. It is this reason that the rest of the martial arts world can hide behind the self defense label.

Think about this, you're a tae kwon do, kenpo, or karate instructor and you just watched a high ranking practitioner get decimated in the octagon. What do you tell your 200 students who have been training with you for years, spending money hand over fist?

you really only have two choices:
The fighter wasn't that good.
Your art is not meant for sport...it's more deadly than that.

If your a student you will most likely agree since you have invested YEARS and THOUSANDS in your training. You have been literally sipping the proverbial Kool-Aide for years and you are in for a penny, in for a pound.

So you continue to learn complicated, time wasting techniques that have no chance of being recalled in real world scenarios.

Martial arts "success" in the real world is based mostly on urban legend fueled by peoples willingness and need to believe.

The truth about self defense is right in front of you and its never that complicated...the truth never is.

Study martial arts for building your body, sharpening your mind and improving your community.

Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company
Martial Arts
Self Defense