When I started Tae Kwon Do as a teenager, I would get into my fighting stance ready to kick ass and take names. Later I would work jobs based on my martial arts training. This started with crappy gigs in places most people would normally avoid. The violence I witnessed during this time barely resembled anything I prepared for in training.
The problem was my martial arts training consisted of sparring and self defense. Sparring had me face my opponent on an equal, controlled playing field. Self defense taught me to wait to be attacked and then defend myself. Both of these behaviors have no place in the real world. Nothing ever happened like the way I was told it was going to happen. People can be ruthless, unforgiving and do or say whatever it takes to impose their will on you. One minute you think a situation is over, the next a bottle is getting smashed over your head.
The few fights where guys took a fighting stance out in the parking lot or when they just started pushing each other usually didn't end up with any serious injury. The worst assaults happened when two guys (or girls) had a beef, until one of them assured the other he didn't have a problem any longer. After you thought it was over, the one who backed off would just turn around and knock the other one out. Or they waited until they left and ambushed them in the parking lot. These are the people who concern me. The ones you didn't see coming. They're the most violent and have no apparent regard for human life.
I observed that good street fighters actually don't "fight" at all. They convince you that everything is OK and then attack you when you're relaxed. It could be at that moment or hours later. They could use their hands, a weapon or their friends, depending on how tough they think you are and how much they needed to impose their will on you. These little details were left out of my martial arts training.
In class we either sparred out of a fighting stance in sparring or we practiced self defense. Self defense training was when you're given a series of attacks that you and your partner practice on each other. You stood there waiting to be attacked, when your partner attacked, you did the prescribed self defense. Even when we ramped it up and practiced against multiple attackers it worked. The problem was in the real world it never happened that way. You were never just attacked with a single technique and given time to react. The bad guy always came with a series of attacks and in ways never imagined. In life, the guy who attacked first won. That never happened that way in class. It was always the "never throw the first punch" mentality. While this may work in elementary school, it's an extremely naive way to deal with adult violence.
It quickly dawned on me that what I was learning in class was fun, but not exactly what worked and outside the dojo. It wasn't until I started training in the SDTS that I actually learned how to start attacking from a non-threatening position. I discovered how to take advantage of position, distance, balance and momentum. I trained for proactive and reactive self defense. I knew how to react with non-specific gross motor techniques.
The funny thing is I was kind of doing these things already, but I didn't realize it until I discovered the SDTS and reflected on my experience. I realized how my martial arts and training for self defense in the SDTS were as different as NASCAR racing is to NHRA drag racing.
Sure they're both cars and they both will get you down the track, but I wouldn't want to race a NASCAR on a drag strip and I sure as heck wouldn't want to race a dragster on the NASCAR circuit. Yet, that's what I was doing with my martial arts.
Martial arts is like NASCAR where cars are meant to meet on equal ground where the skill of the driver is tested over longer periods of time. Self defense is like a drag race: do whatever you can as fast as you can to finish first. Start first, finish first. Sparring in the street might get you a few wins, until you come up against a dragster.
Assuming a fighting stance does more harm than good. First it lets the guy your fighting know that you have some knowledge and you're willing to fight. This is going to cause him to do one or all of three things. Get you to relax, tell you there's not a problem and then when your guard is down, sucker punch you. He could get a weapon or even some friends to give him a hand. Listen, a street fighter isn't looking for a fair fight, he's just looking for a win and he will do anything he can to get the job done. If you want to compete with that you better start playing his game.
Another thing a stance does is let every witness around you know you're willing to fight. Heck, months later at trial, it can be turned around to make it seem like you started the fight. There are a lot of issues surrounding defending yourself, one of them is legal. You might as well train in a way that will put you in the best light legally and tactically.
Smoke him out.
We have a rule in the SDTS, keep him far enough away so that if he tries to hit you, he has to shift his weight. A bad guy is going to want to close the distance on you. Once you establish the distance and he crosses it, you know his true intentions. Now is the time you escape or attack, the choice is yours.
Take a "Non-Fighting" Stance
Learn to fight out of a talking position or what we call in the SDTS the "Interview Stance". There are 4 versions of this depending on your distance to target. They're meant to present a non-threatening posture to your target. This will set your target at ease and show the world you're not looking for a fight. Listen, I'm not in the "talk tough" game. If a guy isn't a real dangerous person you're probably going to walk away without incident, so there's no sense in giving him something to defend his ego over. I'm concerned with the 1% of the world who's not going to react to sabre rattling. That's the guy I need to take by surprise and end it before it starts. No need to let him know I have a clue about fighting.
If you're going to go, go, if you're not going to go, don't go.
Once you make the decision to attack it's an all or nothing proposition. Practice explosive gross motor combinations to non-specific, target rich areas. This will enable you to get the drop on him and take advantage of your body's natural fight or flight response. Always train in multiple combination of 3 to 6 or more. Train the techniques as fast and as hard as you can. Remember to take ground, stomp your feet and move forward. Stop when there is no longer a threat.
Street fights are not sparring matches where two guys are pitted against each other until one gives up or is even knocked out. Real fights are assaults, rapes and attempted homicides. Watching an actual assault will get you sick to your stomach (which is a natural reaction of sane people). Just be prepared for what's out there. There are people who will do anything to impose their will on you. You may live a life and never run into one, but all it takes is one wrong turn, one bad break and you're in a tough situation.
Martial arts, wrestling and other sports instilled in me a great work ethic, sense of fair play and honor. This is how I live my life, but not how I defend it.
Train Honestly,
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.
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