VIDEO-Improvised Black Jack- Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

http://www.theselfdefenseco.com/module11.asp
Self Defense Training System, Module 11 "Old School Weapons and Tactics" Preview

This clip was inspired by Module 11 of the Self Defense Training System titled "Old School Weapons and Tactics". In this clip Damian Ross of The Self Defense Company converts a few simple household items into a devastating impact weapon. Using a simple bandanna and a weighted object, in this case some steel nuts or a weight from a balloon display, you can have an incredibly effective impact weapon. We have used used everything from fishing weights, loose change to ball bearings and it all works well.
Sure you can do this many other items like a sock for example. But it's a lot easier to explain why your carrying a bandanna easier than it is a sock. If you're in law enforcement it's a good idea to store this type of thinking in the back of your head.

Most times the best weapons aren't even weapons at all. In Module 8 of the SDTS "Weapons Defense" we show you a plethora (thank you "Three Amigos") of weapons that you can pick up at your local hardware store. It doesn't have to be "combat certified" to do severe damage. Any number of hand tools are extremely lethal if used in the correct manner. This is something to keep in mind when you're thinking of home defense. A lot of people will go through great lengths to secrete various weapons throughout their homes. This s fine, but many times they will pass perfectly good tools to get to the one they've hidden. One exercise you can do is when you walk into a room, look for something that can be used as a weapon. Mark it's location and imagine how that weapon could be implemented. It's real simple and takes only seconds.

There are many states and countries that outlaw certain types of weapons. If you live in a place that outlaws pepper spray, wasp and hornet repellent makes a great substitute. The point is, restricting weapons NEVER stops men from dong evil to one another. For every new law, the criminal has figured out 10 ways around it. Remember the "Club". That device that locked your car's steering wheel into position? It took the car jacking world 5 seconds to figure out that if you cut the car's steering wheel with a hack saw, the club popped right off.

Where there is a will, there is a way. It works for booth good and evil.

Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company

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Tough Mudder Challenge- Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

Listen, I know I should seem like I'm over the top personally, but I'm really not. Let's just say, I believe everything I write 100%, but I'm pretty low key and the image you get when you think "EXTREME SPORTS" is mountain dew drinking, bungee-base jumping, snow board skate boarding slackers who like to smoke pot and listen to Green Day. On the other hand, unlike other runners and triathletes I don't "MONITOR MY CALORIC INTAKE", I eat. I don't "CARB UP", I eat more Pasta, Bread and Oat Meal, I don't "HYDRATE", I drink f$%ing water. I didn't start running long distance races and doing challenges to do nothing other than challenge myself.

Over the past year a new challenge has come on the horizon and is starting to get noticed by extreme sports enthusiasts and tri-athletes alike. It's called the Tough Mudder. It is a 6 to 12 mile obstacle course designed to push the limits of nerve and endurance. It is inspired by British SAS training and bills itself as the Toughest Race on the Planet.

In the end it was challenging but I wouldn't go as far as calling it tougher than an Iron Man Triathlon or the God Awful Survival of the Shawangunks race . But it has it's moments.

I just ran the 12 mile tristate tough mudder on Saturday, November 20th in English town and I have to say, it was damn cold. There is no need to do that much swimming in late November in NJ. Not sober anyway.



This is us before the race. A former Ranger, two marathon runners and me. This is before we realized what we got our selves into.






The first obstacle- The Two Rope Bridge.
They said it was really the "second" but what they called an obstacle I called "making us run in the water for no reason other than to call it an obstacle.



This is us climbing on to the "Walk The Plank". I renamed this obstacle to the "Spirit Breaker". Allow me to elaborate. You had to rope climb on to the obstacle then voluntarily jump 15 plus feet into 20 feet of dark, murky, freezing water. Now if you have never experienced this before, it's a hell of a thing. First, you want to do what they call a life guard dive. Which is basically a way to hit the water so your head only goes a few inches below the surface. Apparently a few people on our team didn't get that memo. If you have never been in freezing water or dark, murky water (so dark that you can't see the sunlight from 6 inches below the surface) the experience can be a little "unnerving". When you hit the water, all of the air in your lungs is expelled and your heart seems to stop from the thermal shock of the water. Next, you open your eyes, it's black and you are completely disoriented. You may think you will know where the surface is, but trust me...you don't. You have to chill out and start to float a little bit, then start swimming. One of our team mates thought he could propel himself off of the bottom, but when his feet stuck in the muck and slowly released him, he hightailed it to shore.

Note to Tough Mudder Staff "Put rescue and support in the water." More than a few people needed assistance in the water. One of our team mates as well as others, needed assistance and if it wasn't for us and fellow racers there would have been some major problems.



This is a shot I took of the "Spirit Taker" while experiencing the first stages of hypothermia. See the people standing on top of the obstacle? It was there bright idea to help the people drowning by lowering a rope that stopped about three feet above the water. I'd like to thank the others who helped us fish our friend and other racers out.




As if the drowning experience wasn't enough, to add a little insults to injury we had to swim under these barrels before making it to shore.













Oh look we get to swim again. After a short half mile jog, it was back into the freezing water for a short 100 yard swim.



And finally..MUD!!! Well at least we're not drowning. This was about a 300 yard push through the mud. of the 12 mile course about 6 miles of it was mud. Quote of the day, "Chicks in France are are paying top dollar for this stuff." (Thank You Bill Murray).



The brochure said 60 foot cargo net. I don't know who measure these things by if these are 60 feet tall then I have a 12 foot C!@#$.






Yes, they made us crawl under barbed wire (with safety wire of course).




They don't call it Tough "MUDDER" for nothing. The guy in the picture with me is Kobie Jackson. He's the one who wrote and performs all of the music on The Self Defense Training System. See, even musicians with the SDC kick ass. (Sorry, I couldn't resist).

There were about 12 other obstacles that included scaling 10 foot walls, crawling through 20 foot tunnels, 50 yard fire walk which was really more like a "smoke walk" which gave you ZERO visibility with the real prospect of tripping into a burning bail of hay and finally the "electric shock" run. This was the mystery obstacle and could have been left out entirely since it served no real purpose other than causing an involuntary "FUCK!!!" out of my mouth when I was shocked. Picture a pergola with wires hanging from it. You can

The upshot is, the Tough Mudder was a good experience and I will be doing it again. It is a lot more interesting than a marathon and it fosters team spirit. I like the fact that they didn't keep time and encouraged others to help fellow racers out. Other than a few safety issues which I'm sure will be tweaked, if you can do it...do it. Run, do body weight exercises and life. Remember, you can "OPT OUT" of any obstacle. No one notices and no one cares.



The after shot.

Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company

www.selfdefensecompany.com Corporate Center
www.theselfdefenseco.com World's Most Lethal Self Defense
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VIDEO- Defense vs. Rear Naked Choke (standing) Damian Ross, The Self Defense Co...

This clip is an out take from the raw footage from Module 4 of The Self Defense Training System titled "Defense vs Mugs and Holds." In this segment we talk about the realities of being strangle in the real world. The first thing you should understand is that if your attacker knows what he is doing and is capable of executing it, no defense in the world s going to save you. If trained Properly in this type of attack (as seen in Module 12 of The Self Defense Training System) there is no defending it. The same holds true for any attack or situation. If you are going to think you're going to wait until after a professional boxer starts swinging to defend yourself, you're going to wake up in the ER.

The majority of martial artists believe that just because you know a "counter technique" to something that means you can defend it or worse, you feel you re impervious to that particular attack. This could not be farther from the truth.

We know from our experience and more important than us, basic tactics of combat, that the person who initiates the attack has a much greater chance of success than the person being attacked. It is only when the person being attacked can withstand the initial assault and when the attacker has made a mistake in his attack that you have a real shot at defending yourself. Then you must react in a way that changes the momentum of the assault in your favor. As with all situations, you must maintain your balance and immediately launch a counter offensive to turn the tide in your favor.

Always Attack The Man!!! This is the mantra of The Self Defense Training System. Of course when you're being choked to death or when there's a knife at your throat, you have to deal with it, but your focus is on the man, not the attack. In Module 8 of the Self Defense Training System we go into this in depth, but the bottom line is, the fight is not over until the threat is stopped. I can always tell the level of experience when I get comments like "you have to control the weapon." Here's a news flash: the weapon could lay on the floor for a million years and not hurt a soul. It's only until some maniac picks it up and starts waiving it around that it becomes a problem. The equation here is Weapon = no problem. Weapon + Maniac = problem. Eliminate the manic and there isn't any problem. Second, if you get stabbed or shot you do not instantly die. Google knife attack survivor image. You'll see a whole host of nasty pics of people sliced up who survived. Getting stabbed or shot wile you're beating the crap out of someone is a whole lot different than getting stabbed and shot while you're being killed. There are dozens of modern day stories or regular people who have had no prior training, surviving an armed attack. It is always your best bet to end the person attacking you and move past the initial contact as quickly as possible.

I know I went off on a tangent, but oh well, that's just me.

Until next time,

Until next time, Train Honestly,


Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company

www.selfdefensecompany.com Corporate Center
www.theselfdefenseco.com World's Most Lethal Self Defense
www.legaluseofforce.com Police Combatives Training
www.familysafeprogram.com Keep Your Family Safe
www.teachselfdefense.com Turn Your Passion into Profits
www.60minuteselfdefense.com Self Defense for Everyone
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VIDEO "It Doesn't Matter" Ground and Pound with Damian Ross, The Self Defense ...

Some people ask, "Well what if he covers?...we say: It Doesn't Matter!!!" when the guy covers because it's only a matter of time until he's knocked out.

This clip comes from Module 3 of the Self Defense Training System. Once you have someone on the ground or for that matter on the defensive in any position it should only be a matter of time until they're out cold. The clip is titled "It Doesn't Matter" Ground and Pound because I say "it doesn't matter" about 20 times in the 2 minute clip.

Listen, I don't care what you know or what you think you know, if you're on the ground and the guy is beating the snot out of you, if he knows anything about street fighting, you're done like dinner. Sure we teach covers and tactics for you to do from the bottom in hopes that he smashes his fists on your elbows and head or just punches himself out, but if he knows how to REALLY FIGHT, you've got some problems. If you're unarmed and he has a friend or two...it's lights out. Anyone who tells you different is full of crap.

On the flip side, if you're training in the SDTS (Self Defense Training System) you will, with out a doubt, be able to finish the fight on your terms. Because..."it doesn't matter" if he covers, he can cover as much as he wants, because as soon as your edge of hand hits the bones and muscles of his arms, he won't be able to hold his cover for very long. When you pry at his cover with your free hand to make an opening, he won't be a problem.

Listen, don't over think this stuff. It's not a chess match, it more like a drag race and the guy who gets there first without blowing up wins.

Until next time, Train Honestly,
Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company

www.selfdefensecompany.com Corporate Center
www.theselfdefenseco.com World's Most Lethal Self Defense
www.legaluseofforce.com Police Combatives Training
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VIDEO-Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company - Elbow Conditioning

This elbow conditioning drill comes from Module 6 of the Self Defense Training System called "Body Conditioning". This type of training has been used by almost every culture who has systemized method of empty hand combat. Over the years it was safer and easier to give combatants protective equipment, but in the real world you're not afforded that luxury, so you better prepare your body's natural weapons for the harsh environment of real world self defense. In Module 6, Damian shows you how to condition every (and we mean EVERY) part of your body to withstand the abuse of hitting and being hit.

You should be aware that this type of conditioning is the most overlooked type of conditioning in all the martial arts and self defense. The reason is simple: it hurts and if it's done incorrectly will cause severe injury. In module 6 of The Self Defense Training System you will be taken through a progression of drills that when done correctly will yield incredible results.

Enough of the sales pitch, forgive me, I've been writing ads all morning and it's embedded in my brain. Normal conditioning happens when you spar, grapple and train with your dummy, but to really take it to the next level, you want to start getting into this extreme conditioning. BTW, I know the word extreme is played out, but it's the best way to describe this training.

I should also mention that when you hit bricks, wood and iron, something happens to you psychologically that makes hitting flesh, bone and muscle not so intimidating.

Until next time, Train Honestly,


Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company

www.selfdefensecompany.com Corporate Center
www.theselfdefenseco.com World's Most Lethal Self Defense
www.legaluseofforce.com Police Combatives Training
www.familysafeprogram.com Keep Your Family Safe
www.teachselfdefense.com Turn Your Passion into Profits
www.60minuteselfdefense.com Self Defense for Everyone
www.myselfdefenseresource.com Free Resource Material
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Damian Ross VIDEO: The SDTS Ground and Pound

The REAL combative "ground and pound". The ground and pound in MMA and ground and pound in the real world are a little different. In this clip Damian Ross of The Self Defense Company shows you what to avoid in a real life ground and pound scenario from Module 3 of the Self Defense Training System "Ground fighting for keeps.

The first problem with MMA ground and pound is simple, you have gloves, wraps and a soft mat beneath you. In MMA a straight punch is protected while in the street your unprotected fist can hit bone, ground or the hard concrete shattering knuckles and breaking wrists. To avoid this you want to condition your hands to deliver the strikes, use parts of your hands that can handle abuse like the edge of your hand or the heel and finally delver your strikes in more of an arcing trajectory. The edge of hand and hammer fist do this naturally while the heel of hand and fore fist must be trained a bit.

The other issue with the MMA ground and pound is that in the ring and in practice, you are trained to stop before your opponent is knocked out. This is done for safety reasons (as it should be) but you may literally "punch your self out" or punch yourself tired before your target is no longer a threat. With the combative or Self Defense Training System (SDTS) ground and pound you will train to move your target's cover and expose the real knock out targets before you get too exhausted. Because every one who's been there will tell you, your adrenaline will drain your energy in seconds, not minutes. You need to get your target under control, as fast as possible. Multiple threats and the real chance of your target being armed are your primary concerns. The longer the fight lasts, the worse it is for you.

I should mention that the preferred method for finishing a downed target is with your feet. But due to the realities of what really happens, it is hard to get past the impulse to mount your enemy and finish him the old school yard way.

Until next time, Train Honestly,


Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company

www.selfdefensecompany.com Corporate Center
www.theselfdefenseco.com World's Most Lethal Self Defense
www.legaluseofforce.com Police Combatives Training
www.familysafeprogram.com Keep Your Family Safe
www.teachselfdefense.com Turn Your Passion into Profits
www.60minuteselfdefense.com Self Defense for Everyone
www.myselfdefenseresource.com Free Resource Material
FREE Training Forum http://theselfdefenseco.madmooseforum.com/