I'm 528 Months Old!

Comedian Larry Miller takes you through the phases of aging.

Yes it's my birthday week and at 44 part of me still thinks I'm 17. That's a lie, most of me still thinks I'm 17. But I'm not. I'm definitely older, it's debatable if I'm a little wiser, but one things for sure, I sure as hell don't have to try as hard or as often to get the desired result and I've come to learn my limitations and I have a pretty good idea when I'm getting in over my head. That means I know to call a plumber before I flood the house.

It's funny, I never thought I would give a second thought to getting older until, well, I did. Something happens when you hit your forties. The first thought I had was HOLY SHIT, I'm going to be 50! You suddenly realize that there's more of life behind you than what's in front of you. your mortality becomes VERY REAL as you come to grips with the fact that no matter how hard you try, it's eventually going down hill from here.

Don't get me wrong, I intend to fight this aging thing until the death, but there will come a time when it's over.

While some of my friends are getting divorced, girlfriends (or boyfriends), buying motorcycles and generally letting the "wheels fly off the wagon" me and a few others realized that our time is limited so we better make the best with what we have if we're going to make the most out of our existence.

One observation is that an injury isn't "just an injury" or a bad day isn't simply a bad day. Each little physical and mental failure triggers a nagging question, am I starting my slow descent into "oldmanhood"? Because at some point, shit is going to start breaking and falling off and while I've pledged to go as far and as long as I can. 3000 years ago Spartan Soldiers were active until they were 60 plus and Jack Lalane was still putting younger men to shame in his 90's so I've got a few more rounds left in my magazine.

One of the issues we have as we get older is can we protect ourselves. Self defense is a mindset before a skill set. The toughest guy in the world today isn't the toughest guy in the world tomorrow. You need to adapt your skill set to your survival mindset constantly.

They say "tigers fight harder when they sense the end is near". I like the story of the old man facing the young bodybuilder. It all starts over a parking space where the young buck tries to cut off the old man who slides into the spot. The young guy jumps out of his car and yells "I'm going to kick your ass OLD MAN!!" To that the old timer replies "Look, you've got me really scared, I have no choice but to fight for my life and try to kill you." At that point the muscle head thinks about it and decides it's not worth it.

When you're vulnerable you start to act desperately because the stakes are higher. As we age we can use this to our advantage but we need the tools and the methods to channel our will into effective action.

When I was at the peak of my wrestling career I didn't think twice about taking a guy down in the street. Now I just know better and I know in a few years I might not be able too. It's a good thing that I have adaptable skill set.


This is the whole purpose of the Self Defense Training System. A program with skills that you can adapt to different stages of your life.

I just had a conversation with an SDTS Legion Member on Facebook who said some of these things I would have done in my 20's and 30's but now in my late 50's I don't want to bother. To that I responded that's what SDTS Module 9 is for!

As I get older I understand even more the importance of this information and training because I'm living it. Hey I can still do a lot of the things I could when I was younger (some better) but I know there are just somethings I can't do. I can not compete at the level I did 10 years ago. I may be strong enough but I'm not as fast and it takes a little longer to warm up and recover.

It's a good thing that I don't need to be that fast and I'm glad I focused on this instead of the sporting aspects of the martial arts. Martial arts and combat sports are a young man (and woman's) game, but self defense is EVERYONE'S responsibility. And you don't need to jump through hoops to get understand it.

You don't need to spend years learning this. It wasn't designed for it. Learn it, train it, teach it.

Train Honestly,
Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company








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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.

How the Law REALLY works with Self Defense

NOTE: I am not an attorney but I know a few damn good ones. In fact, you'll meet one of them at the Training Summit 2012.

"You'll get sued for doing that!" Or "That will land you in jail, fast!" These are the comments we get from people who say the SDTS Combatives program is too violent.

Let's get one thing straight here, no matter what you do, if you defend yourself with SDTS Combatives, Who-flung-poo kung fu or a frying pan, any action you can lead you into a court room. Any martial arts you take, will be used to paint you as a violent person. Heck, even Ron Goldman who was killed by OJ (OK, OJ was found innocent) was painted by the defense as being capable of defending himself because he had a green belt (or something close to it) in Tae Kwon Do. So even if you take SDTS Combatives, Aikido or TaeBo your actions, skills and motivations will be brought into question.

Right are wrong you're STILL going to have to spend money on an attorney.

If you do defend yourself, you're still going to have to defend your actions in a court of law. Depending on the circumstances and severity of the injuries sustained by the person who attacked you, you could be exonerated or held for some form of assault to homicide. The terms vary from state to state so either he got bumped and bruised or he's dead. It's obvious that you're facing much stiffer charges if you actually kill another human being. Either way you're still going to have to hire an attorney.

This is what will typically happen:
1. You're arrested.
2. You're processed and arraigned before a judge. Here's where bail is set and you are formally charged.
3. You post bail or (10%) of the bail with a bail bondsmen (at a rate) and if you're a flight risk, the bail or the percentage will be higher or you won't get bail at all.
4. You get an attorney (either court appointed- OUCH! or you find someone who specializes in criminal law).
5. You file your motions with the court and your lawyer builds a case. This could take years. Over the course of time the majority of the case relies on the evidence. Remember, it's not what happened, it's what you can prove.
6. Then, no matter how a criminal case ends, you can still be sued in most states. Yes, even by the guy you floored after he broke into your house and threatened your family.


The bottom line is this: if you defend yourself in ANY MANNER you run the risk of having to defend your actions in court. Let's just imagine you can toss them to the ground with a wrist lock or a..ahem, a pressure point. Your attacker will get bumped and bruised. And without knowing how to take a proper fall, they can still be killed when they smack their head on a brick wall or a concrete floor as seen demonstrated by Aikido, Judo and Jujutsu experts. Anytime you put your hands on someone you run the risk of seriously being injured and seriously injuring your target. Either way, there is a great chance after ANY conflict you will have to defend your actions in a court of law.

The t-shirt slogan I would rather be judged by twelve than carried by six is something you need to consider. I know it's cliché and a little cheesy, but that doesn't make it untrue.

I'm going to sue you!!!

Sure you are Judge Judy. The only time you will be sued is if you have money. Lawyers don't work for free and are not in the habit of suing broke people. Depending on the attorney, he's not going to take a case on a contingency (that's the one where you only pay him only if you win) unless he knows he'll be making 50 to 100 thousand dollars plus. These cases are long and risk recovering no money, so a lot of times he's looking for a quick settlement to make the most on his time. The longer the case drags on, the higher the settlement amount goes, the less likely he will get paid.

A lawyer choosing which cases to take comes down to two factors: if he can easily prove his case and if he feels he will get paid for his time. Let's put it this way, if you own your home and earn an average income with a mortgage and a car chances are you don't have a few hundred thousand lying in the bank waiting to be given to some lawyer. If you do, you better be insured and covered just in case anyone does try to sue you. That can range from someone getting bitten by your dog to you beating someone to a pulp.

The law focuses on intent and reasonableness under the totality of the circumstances and NOT what technique or style you use. You can still defend yourself and there are justifiable circumstances. Your vindication depends directly on what you do BEFORE and AFTER the attack, not during the attack. In the SDTS, we cover that too. Because defensive tactics are more than just technique.

Note that the NRA does sell self-defense insurance and you can get it here >>>http://www.locktonaffinity.com/nrains/defense.htm

Train Honestly,
Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company








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Tactical Training Programs

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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.

Civil Unrest - Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

I'm not a survivalist, I'm a realist. While there are people predicting the end of the world this year, from complete economic meltdown to the Mayans December 21 prediction.

Personally, I don't think the world is going to end and I don't think we're going to go back to the stone age either. Because even if that happens, no problem, the world is over and all the crap we're worrying about right now is over and done.

The end of the world doesn't scare me, but civil unrest does.

The term civil unrest is innocuous. It sounds more like a little nuisance or a bad night's sleep if than anything else but civil unrest can range from a protest to a full scale riot of biblical proportions. The problem is you never know when or where you may find yourself neck deep is some serious civil unrest.

This summer we had Hurricane Irene hit our shores. Well, she didn't really hit anything, she just gave us some really good surfing for a few days. But that didn't matter. She was do in on Saturday and it just so happened that I was in Long Beach Island, NJ (ground zero for Irene)on the Thursday before when Governor Christie said "Don't be ridiculous, get off the beach." And then proceeded to execute a mandatory evacuation of Long Beach Island and the rest of the Jersey Shore on Friday morning.

That Thursday evening and it just happened to be raining out. The weather was unrelated to the pending storm. But that didn't stop people from panicking. As soon as the first rain drop was felt, every car on the island went to the gas station until the pumps were dry and then the grocery stores were ransacked until nothing remained. I saw at least four separate fights break out in the short time I was on the roads. It was crazy. This wasn't the inner city or some war torn, third world country. This was an affluent beach town during a summer rain shower.

There wasn't any real threat. Even if the storm hit with F5 proportions, in a matter of an hour by car you would have reached safety. The real threat was the people.

Seem too far fetched?

Imagine your in your truck, driving through town and you come upon people rioting and looting. Before you can put you rig in reverse, you're dragged out of rig and beaten by the crowd of men. Seem impossible? That's exactly what happened to Reginald Denny on March 3rd, 1991 in downtown Los Angeles when the jury handed over a "Not Guilty" verdict on the Rodney King trial. Reginald was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the cops couldn't help him, the national guard couldn't help him, he was on his own and when the shit hits the fan, so are you.

The police are not equipped to handle an all out riot. L.A. has one of the most elite police forces in the world and all they could do was contain it and let it burn out. It's all you can do.

Most people think of having to defend themselves against a mugger, a rapist or a drunken bully. And while these are very real and dangerous threats, people think they will avoid these people by staying in areas that don't have that sort of crime. I can assure you that the people in the little, sleepy town of Long Beach Island who with no prior criminal activity, took to fighting for the last carton of milk the second they felt it was life or death. I will go out on a limb and say the majority people who participated in the London riots would avoid any sort of conflict under normal circumstances.

I listen to some people tell me they don't need to worry about these situations because they live in a safe and affluent community. BULLSHIT. Mr. Jones next door may help you take your bulk trash to the curb, but when it comes down to his family or yours, guess who he's going to pick?

When you get the chance, watch the movie "Contagion". You thinks it's just a movie? Right, we've already seen this behavior with the Bird Flu epidemic in China. It's not a matter of IF it will happen only WHEN it will happen because IT DOES HAPPEN. It's not a rare or isolated incident, it's a regular occurrence.

How prepared is too prepared? I don't know, digging foxholes in your front yard, laying mine fields and making your family car a decommissioned Abrams, might be a bit extreme. Personally, I keep a bug out bag and a whole host of "get out of dodge" items if me and my family need to evacuate the area. And if anyone get's in the way of me and where I have to go, I'm ready to take care of them too. I'm not a tough guy, I'm not an alarmist, I'm not a survivalist, I'm a realist.

I would expect anyone else to do the same.

Train Honestly,
Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company








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Tactical Training Programs

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Family and Community Safety
Basic Adult and Teen Tactical Training
Police, Military and Security Tactical Training
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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.

They Thought The World Was Flat

"I've trained in martial arts from 26 years and you don't know..."

Spare me the rhetoric. Just because you're doing something for a long time doesn't mean it's correct. They thought the world was flat, they thought the sun revolved around the earth and they still think martial arts is self defense.

Like the earth being flat or the sun revolving around the earth, martial arts may appear to be self defense. After all a punch is a punch and a kick is a kick and if you punch someone hard enough you will get the desired result.

But it's much more than that.

The mentality of time in training equal proficiency is ridiculous. That would be like saying a 60 year old gymnast is better than a 20 year old gymnast. Imagine what would happen if a retired NFL football player in his 50's went up against an active player in his 20's. The results wouldn't be pretty for our middle aged friend.

Yet martial artists still boast proficiency at any age. Sorry to burst your bubble but if you're in your 50 and you can still beat that 30 year old has been training under you for more than a couple of years either he's really bad or he's letting you win.

Every martial art has a fundamental skill set and the majority of those skills are taught in the first year. The same holds true for any sport as well. The majority of the techniques you will ever use, you learn in the first year. Now there comes a point in your life where that punch and kick start to loose power and speed. Age and injury like death and taxes will eventually take their toll. At some point your skills will deteriorate and it doesn't matter how many stripes you put on your belt. You will get older, slower and weaker.

The problem martial artists face is that they have self imposed an impossible expectation to use the same skill set over a lifetime. They may try to vary a technique or two, but the real issue is in the principles they learned. You're expected to use the techniques of your style under conditions that are designed for one on one, "fair fight" combat between two able bodied players. Look, if you don't specifically train to pick up a rock and bash a homicidal maniac in the skull you're not going to do it when it really happens. If you spend your time sparring and doing forms, that's what you're going to do because you've conditioned yourself to do for decades.

The root cause is that ALL martial arts are method driven. They have a specific agenda as to why they were created. Martial arts were created for national pride, sport and entertainment. Martial arts for lack of a better term are like a brand, each seeking it's own identity in the market place. Judo wants it's own identity so it makes sure it differs from wrestling. Tae Kwon Do wants to be different then Shotokan so they focus on kicking, MMA wants to be different then boxing so they combine sports and BJJ wants to be different than Judo so they focus on the ground. Trying to make your martial art method the answer for EVERYTHING is like trying to build a house with just a hammer. It can't be done.

Combatives on the other hand is different. Combatives is results driven. Combatives doesn't have a country of origin, a flag to fly or a hidden agenda. It's only purpose is to survive and conquer by whatever means fair or foul. That purpose transcends time and method and it enables you to adapt. If today you use and edge of hand, tomorrow when you can't hit so hard you may want to use a black jack and 20 years from now when you can't lift your arm so well, you may use pepper spray to diffuse a situation.

Being tied to a method restricts your adaptability and limits your options. While being focused on a result allows you to open your mind to adapt and be resourceful. The only hitch is, you have to train for it, and not just think about it. In the SDTS Combatives we use specific drills that force you to use your environment along with gross motor movements that work with empty hand, edged and impact weapons.

Train Honestly,
Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company








The Self Defense Company Global Network of Resources

The Self Defense Company Tactical Gear and Clothing Outpost

Free Resources

Up to the minutes Self Defense News from around the World
SDC Corporate Site
SDC Training Forum
The SDC on Face Book
SDC Blog
Free SDC Videos on Youtube
SDC on Twitter

Tactical Training Programs

SDTS Lethal Use of Force Training
Family and Community Safety
Basic Adult and Teen Tactical Training
Police, Military and Security Tactical Training
Instructor Certification


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.