VIDEO- The Ugly Red Dummy 2- Knock Down Test, Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

At first look, between the mounting platforms and the weight of the dummy, it looks like a stiff fart could knock it over and I was correct. Not about the fart thing, that didn't work, but it didn't take a whole lot of power to take him off his feet. Fortunately I had a quick fix that didn't require any drilling or permanent mounting solution. It was fast, easy and above all cheap.

To secure him in place I took 3, 45 pound (20.45 Kilo) plates and placed them over the base. Then training got a whole lot more fun! I mean, it was awesome. In the clip I use a combination from SDTS Module 2 Advanced strikes and to be honest, it felt amazing. Following up with a knee to the nuts was the icing on the cake. In the past, the Ugly Red Dummy would have saved me a lot of time and aggravation in the old Training Center. You could line a few of these up along the wall and instead of putting plates on the bases, just remove the suction cups and simply bolt them to a sub-floor or to a piece 4X8, 3/4" plywood. I only used the weights in this clip to show a non-permanent solution.

The performance and function of The Ugly Red Dummy were better than expected. Since I had to step on something on the ground reminded me to focus on my footwork from Module 1. It also served as a distraction. You must train for any situation and that includes ground surface. If you slip or stumble, you need to stay focused on your attack and ignore the distraction. That split second lapse in your attack maybe all the guy needs to gain the advantage. Look around you right now, you probably can't go 10 feet in any direction without running into an object or change in elevation. Dojo's and gyms are nice, but they're not the real world. In the world we wear shoes, sneakers and boots. In the world there is glass, rocks, trash and furniture. The world is a harsh and unforgiving place. Funny, I just told my 6 year old son that. Oh well, life sucks, get a helmet, moving forward...

The movement on the dummy is another positive. You're target is not going to stay still. You're going to miss, hit bone, or worse. The motion of the dummy was enough to keep me honest, but not so much that it was unrealistic and got in the way of the session.

Today, the Ugly Red Dummy passed his first serious test. Like I said, he's not perfect but for $500 and some weights you can pick up off of ebay (I saw some on Craig's List for $35.00) so not a big investment there. Like I said, it's not perfect but is it worth it? So far, I say yes, but I ain't done by a long shot...

Train Smarter, Not Harder,
Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company


Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.