Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Is MMA a Waste of Time for the Average Joe? - Damian Ross, the Self Defense Company

The following is inspired by recent discussions with MMA fighter "James Lightning" Wilkes who has raised the obvious MMA vs Reality Self Defense argument. By the way, James has been honest and forthright in his position and I appreciate his argument (and I'm not going to let that age comment slide - talk to me in 6 years sonny).

Regarding self defense, training in MMA is almost a complete waste of time. Like the old saying says "Don't ask a barber if you need a haircut." Most people who are proponents of MMA and martial arts training are either currently involved in teaching said methods. Like I said, I still regularly practice martial arts...just NOT as a mainstay for self defense.

Technique aside, lack of rules aside, tactics and method aside. Today I want to approach the discussion from a different angle: time.

MMA and martial arts instructors demand a lot of time to perfecting their craft. It takes years to start to understand the sport on a practical level. Unfortunately your average person doe not have the time or the desire to pursue such goals. If that were the case, the vast majority of martial arts school owners would have no problems filling their classes.

Here are the facts as we know them:

How many people and how much time do they spend even working out?
According to the president's council on fitness and I quote: "Unfortunately, few Americans engage in regular physical activity despite the potential benefits. Less than 10 percent of the U.S. adult population exercises at the level recommended by the 1990 objectives: "exercise which involves large muscle groups in dynamic movement for periods of 20 minutes or longer, 3 or more days per week, and which is performed at an intensity of 60 percent or greater of an individual's cardiorespiratory capacity." 9 less than half the adult population exercises 3 or more days per week for 20 minutes or longer regardless of intensity of dynamic movement of large muscle groups. The prevalence of physical inactivity increases with advancing age especially during adolescence and early adulthood."

That means only 10% of the adult population do 20 minutes of exercise, three times a week. That means 22 million American adults are doing what they're supposed to do while the other 223 million do less or nothing.

But wait, it gets worse when it comes to martial arts training.

Out of an estimated 245,000,000 Americans over the age of 15...
An estimated 18.1 million Americans participated in karate or some other form of martial art at least once in the past year. Only 9.4 million adults. That's less than 4 percent of the adult population.

An estimated 5 percent of adults (470,000) say they participated in martial arts last year at more than once, and a quarter of those (28 percent or 131,600) say they do martial arts "every chance they get."

This is the "hardcore" personalities that make up only 1% of the population. Again, these are people who say EVERY CHANCE THEY GET. We can assume that number to be lower since most people respond in how they want to behave and not how they actually behave.

Surprisingly, the martial arts participation bunch is fairly evenly split between men (52 percent) and women (48 percent). But for the most part, participants are young. Sixty-three percent are between 18 and 34, compared with 25 percent who are between 35 and 49 and 11 percent who are 50 or older. That means only 169,200 people over the age of 34 participated in any form of martial art last year. when compared to a population of 105 million (give or take) the percentage is only .16% of the adult population over the age of 34 participates on some level in the martial arts.

Combining the people who work out and the people who actually participate in martial arts you will find that an extremely small percentage really do train while the vast majority of the world likes to SAY they train.

The reality is this, the vast majority or people who train only train once or twice per week

When I had my school I observed something and it went along with what all of the marketing experts in the business told me. The average person will sign up and last 6 months to a year and train or twice a week for an hour. Only about 8% would compete in tournaments and train the necessary 14 hours per week to get their fitness and skill to a competitive level. It was our goal to retain students by offering them more and exciting events and promotions.

The idea of having to create more hoops to jump through and more "events" to entertain people turned me off so I decided to provide different tracks of training for people's different needs. Most adults wanted self defense so if they trained with me for 9 months to a year, they learned all they needed to know about self defense (This lead to the development of the SDTS Combatives Program. If someone wanted to compete we continued training in Judo and Knock Down Karate. Low and behold the people who opted to do the latter were younger and few and far between.

We can all agree that a person who shows a strong interest in martial arts training that holds a job and has a social life and a family can dedicate 2 hours per week for about 1 year.

We know not only from our experience, but from the people who have trained in SDTS style methods during the second world war, that they became proficient in a number of weeks (6 to 12) depending on their deployment and training.

How long does it take to become proficient in MMA? MMA has three major components, grappling, striking and submissions. In coaching Varsity High School Wrestling I could take your average kid at 12 hours a week for an 12 week season and get him to the point where he knew his ass from a hole in the ground. All "natural" factor aside, when he faced a kid with equal natural abilities and more experience he would lose. To become an "average wrestler" where you win at lease half your matches it will take you 3 years or 432 hours.

So using our "Average Joe" formula of 2 hours per week, it will take you over 4 years to get an average skill set in wrestling. The same holds true for Judo, BJJ, Karate, Kick boxing and what have you.

So look at it this way, Average Joe to become OK (just OK) in MMA takes 1,296 hours. Or roughly 12 years of training. Training without injury and any other setbacks.

To reiterate my point: this is just to become average. Looking at the numbers now, if given a choice between MMA and focusing one one particular discipline, you would probably be better off sticking to boxing, wrestling, judo or BJJ. At least you could be really good at something than just average at a lot of things.

On the other hand, you can train in a system like SDTS Combatives and develop a specific skill set purposed for self defense with in those time constraints. For the time it would take you to become proficient at a strangle you could learn how to implement a whole cadre of skills that would end the fight well before you ever were in a position to strangle.

The people who criticize this type of training have never even trained in our methods. Yet, we have trained in theirs and choose this as the first line of defense over all others. Most people who train in the SDTS Combatives have already experienced combat sport and appreciate it for what it's worth.

Let's put it this way, because this is really what we're talking about. If you took two guys of equal ability and trained on in MMA and the other in SDTS Combatives two times a week for an hour over the course of the year and then put them in a self defense situation, logic dictates the SDTS member would have a better chance of survival.

Listen, you're not a professional fighter and you're not going to be one.

What makes a really good MMA fighter? Someone who has an extensive background in a grappling art. Sure there are exceptions but the vast majority of champions have a wrestling or grappling background. You can not expect to start from ground zero as an adult and be successful in MMA. You need a foundation sport. The established sports of wrestling and Judo are king. Randy Couture walked in pushing 40 and kicked everyone's ass and Rhonda Rousey is on her way to tear through the world of women's MMA but here's the kicker in the world of wrestling and judo, these guys are good, but they're not the best in the world. The reason the best Judo fighters don't compete in MMA is because they are training in government sponsored programs for the Olympics. Believe me, if Japan, France, Britain, Brazil and Germany started letting there Judo fighters compete in MMA in their prime, a lot of people will have their hands full.

Same holds true for wrestling. Right now the best MMA talent is in collegiate wrestling and out of all the kids who won national titles this year I bet not a single one will go to the UFC. Why? Because there's no money in it. All of these kids are graduating and going to get 6 figure jobs where they don't have to get punched in the face. If there was some REAL money to be made in MMA I assure the landscape would change dramatically. When I say real money, I mean NFL, MLB and NBA money. Right now you couldn't pay half of Peyton Manning's salary with what you pay the entire stable of MMA fighters. If the UFC ponied up the real bucks you would see some serious talent in the octagon. But you won't because as long as the UFC can sell pay per view all they need is a couple of guys to knock the crap out of each other.

Your training for self defense needs to be "mission specific" like the SDTS Combatives Program. If you're like most people and have only 2 hours a week for 12 months to develop a skill specifically tailored for defense.

At some point you must come to grips with the fact your time spent training is limited. It's our goal not to change your life but to give you something that you can really use successfully within REALISTIC time constraints.

Please don't misquote me. I never said you can not defend yourself with combat sports. I would be incredibly wrong and based on my own experience, a liar. Boxer, wrestlers, MMA fighters and the like have been doing it for decades. All I'm saying is that there is a more efficient and practical way of doing it and the research has already been done from 1911 to 1950 regarding reality self defense. But after all is said and done it's your common sense and experience that will show you the truth.
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.

Monday, March 19, 2012

"No Holds Barred" - Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

Once every year I have to repeat myself. This is when the Brazilian jiujitsu and MMA guys start coming out of the woodwork talking about how their kung fu in better than my kung fu. The latest comes from some guys on the SDTS FACEBOOK page. I have the forums not only to help those training, but to have a place of open discussion and in part to defend the merits of what we do.

The typical response that always winds up with some kind of "challenge". Like, if you're ever in Southern California, come on down to "XYZ Dojo" and we will fight you. Or send an SDTS Practitioner over here to fight us in a "no holds barred" match. These statements tell me two things about the person saying them. First, their notion of self defense let alone a real fight, has not evolved past middle school and second, their idea of "no holds barred" and the SDTS idea of "no holds barred" are two totally different ideas.

A "fight" in our world is when someone is trying to rape, murder or assault us or someone we care about. We respond to that attack by whatever means necessary to legally defend our lives and well being. That can and will range from a variety of close quarters weapons, firearms, nonlethal technologies and empty hand techniques. We will use improvised weapons, any form of gouge, kick, strangle, rip, dislocation or strike that will enable us to gain the tactical edge. In order to be morally and legally justified to do that, we must be in a situation where we feel we will get seriously injured or killed. This isn't the school yard, this is alone, in the parking lot or on patrol.

"No holds barred" in the SDTS includes all kinds of weapons, firearms, friends basically anything imaginable. I don't what to come off as an extremist, just a realist. Bad people do bad things and you must be willing to do some bad things if you want to survive. The choice is yours, live your life and hedge your bets or prepare to do whatever it takes if that's what's called for.

If I were to stay true to SDTS protocal and I knew I was going to be attacked by an expert in MMA, Boxing or anything else it would go against logic not to arm myself in a way that I would defeat said expert. I'm mot bringing a knife to a gun fight, I'm bringing an Abrams Tank.

What these knuckleheads fail to realize is that we're NOT a martial art. We're a tactical response to violence. The mere notion of a challenge match indicates that these guys don't know what real violence is, or they just haven't thought it through. The other thing they don't know or care to acknowledge is that I'm a combat sport guy!!! How many black belts and trophies does a dude need to earn to get the point across?!?!?! If I thought wrestling, judo and kickboxing were the best methods of self defense I would have created a system that resembled those arts. Instead I chose to teach what works best and what has been proved to work the best under real world conditions. Incidentally, Cestari, Fairbairn, O'Neill and myself all have one thing in common...JUDO!! And if Judo was the best means of self defense (Pre WWII Judo- Look at the book M. Kawaishi, My Judo for all the leg locks and neck cranks you could ever hope for) then that would be the method of choice.

The problem is this, what has become known as "traditional" martial arts systems don't work. More to the point, the way that they're taught over the last 30 plus years has made them all but useless. The only ones worth a damn are MMA, Judo, Wrestling, BJJ, Boxing and kick boxing. At least here you get to ply your trade against a completely resistant opponent. I can clearly see why they would try to lump us into the "martial arts" category.

To belabor the point...The SDTS Combatives Program is NOT a martial art. No more than firearms training is and it can't be viewed in a martial arts context. A challenge match is absurd when our doctrine dictates we use "any means, fair or foul." On a personal note, unless you're attacking me or my family, I wouldn't think of causing harm to another human being, the idea actually gets me a little sick, mainly because I'm not a psychopath but if you cross the line, and put lives in jeopardy, I will do what I have to do to survive.

There is a reason the people who usually seek us out have dealt with violence in their lives. They know the difference between sport and reality and have the insight to recognize the gaps and inefficiencies in their training. As an aside we do recommend that you can supplement supplement your training with judo. We chose judo because it trains you to stay on your feet and gain a dominant position. You learn submissions and pins (as well as how not to get submitted!!!) and you learn to fight with a sense of urgency that will enable you to implement the SDTS methods faster and more effectively. BJJ is a second choice but the issue we have there is that it trains you to go to the ground and teaches you to wait for openings which puts you at a severe disadvantage in the street. Being on the ground waiting leaves you vulnerable against the hard surface of the ground, weapon and third party attacks.

I don't know why they (MMA et all) feel threatened by us? We're not saying don't do those things. Combat sports have their place, but the SDTS isn't meant to be a combat sport or a martial art, it's a tool against violence.
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.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tactics vs. Techniques - Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company

“Whenever possible pick your fights, and always pick the ones you can win.” – Me, I just said that.


Even Paris Hilton "Gets it"

Recently I appeared on a radio show where the host was telling me about how he had to fill up his car at a gas station in a high crime area. He then went through great detail on how he would position himself around the vehicle and his behavior when anyone approached. He continued to describe what weapons and what techniques he would use to defeat anyone who attacked him. When he asked me what I would do, I said “Go to another gas station.”

There is this underlying idea that you shouldn’t have to alter your behavior because it would yourself to fight everything that comes in your way that’s instilled in training. And while you do “train for your worst nightmare” common sense needs to play a role in how you live your life.

Tsun Tzu himself suggested only engaging in battles you know you’re going to win “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”

Why would you deliberately put yourself in a position of weakness? Going into known, high crime areas when you don’t have to, is literally asking for trouble. Hey, I know some people put their faith in the kindness of man, me, I’d rather put my faith in my ability to protect myself. Even with all my training and experience I will always choose the safer route and if it does happen where I can’t avoid it, I have planned for these contingencies with small weapons and tactics.

A little planning goes a long way.
Having an exit strategy, not crowding the car in front of you when you’re at a traffic stop are just a few things to start thinking tactically. Understanding the physical abilities of the people you are with is important as well. What if you needed to escape, how far and how fast can you run? Can you scale a 3 foot wall? Can you swim? Can you do a pull up? Knowing your capabilities and the abilities of the people around you should dictate your behavior.

SCREW PRINCIPLES
There are some people who feel entitled to fill up at that gas station. “It’s a public business, I have the right to go there.” Stow your rights and use your head. People have lost so much because they stuck to their principles for what?!?! The end game is survival and living a healthy life. Don’t be a knuckle head and put yourself in a dangerous situation for no good reason.

Sometimes, trouble finds you
Sometimes you can’t pick your battles and that is what we prepare for. That is also the reason you need to use any means and method at your disposal to give yourself the highest percentage of success. Honor is how you live your life, not wage war. The only people who have the luxury of honor and mercy are the victors. When you survive and win, then you show mercy, Leave style and “honor” at the door until the situation is under control. There is no “fighting honorably” only “honorable reasons to fight.”

Escalation of force is a recipe for disaster
Initially engaging in a use of force situation with the attitude of “escalation of force” where your response is at the same level of your assailants puts you at a clear disadvantage. This notion put the enemy in control and you one step behind. How can you tell that initial push doesn’t get followed by a stab? You can’t, that’s why you always need to react more viciously and ruthlessly than you’re being attacked. He pushes you, you don’t push back, you hit him and end the situation on your terms before it gets out of control. Not only are you within your legal right to do so, but you know if you knock your target out, the fight is over. This is also the time to deploy pepper spray and other non-lethal countermeasures. As soon as there’s trouble you need to take the driver’s seat and shift the momentum in your favor.

You don’t fight squat!
I don’t fight; I react tactically and seek to end the situation as fast as possible. This is a direct contradiction to my martial arts training that has told me (subconsciously) that I need to fight someone on equal terms. If ending the fight means distracting my enemy with a question or another distraction, so be it. If that means I fake compliance, close the distance and attack, so be it. The techniques are secondary.

The notion of "fighting" forces you to think of technique and the minutia of the fight. Because of sports you think of attacks and counters. But real fights don’t really happen in that sporting rhythm. A fight is more “attack and retreat” than anything else. In a fight you’re either the one doing the attacking or the one being attacked. It’s that simple. In combat, the goal is to injure your attacker as fast as possible while sustaining as little injury as possible.

Don’t forget, the “spirit” of martial arts and competition is the positive aspects of combat without the negative. Budo is about mutual respect, honor, healthy competition, national pride and a way of pushing yourself and satisfying your inner warrior without having to take a life. Martial arts are designed with safety and style in mind, not all out warfare.

Listen, I love the spirit of martial arts and train and teach on a weekly basis. I love rolling around with my buddies and coming off the mat with a wide variety of mat burns and sore muscles. But I know that this is not “real” no matter how many martial arts we mix in. I know a real fight with someone who has little or nothing to lose is dangerous, caustic and violent. I don’t like them and I never met anyone sane who did.

Look at the big picture
Thinking tactically is about looking at the big picture, having your eye on the end game and desired result. The means are whatever gets you to the end result with the least amount of sacrifice. I don’t know a military or law enforcement commander who would ever chose to engage an enemy if the odd were 50-50 (or even 75-25). Always prepare and seek to stack the odds in your favor. Logic dictates that your attacker will do the same. Believe me, they only pick marks they think they can overpower and manipulate. It’s up to you to have a nasty surprise that “changes their mind.”
Self Defense, Combatives or whatever you want to call it is all about the “end game”. The only goal is your survival and safety.

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
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.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Train How You Live


Uniforms and safety equipment are great, but don't really help your self defense training. In martial arts class you're barefoot and wear uniforms whether its a traditional gi or shorts and shirt. Unless you work and live wearing gloves and protective gear, you need to seriously re-evaluate your training methods if you're serious about self defense.

If you wear a suit or coveralls and boots, you better understand what you can and can not do. Soldiers and law enforcement need to train with whatever equipment they wear when they're working. When I see soldiers and uniformed officers grappling in BDU's or Sweats calling it "Defensive Tactics" or "Combatives" it makes me scratch my head. Try pulling guard with a utility belt on batman and let me know how it works out for you.

Be realistic. If you wear a suit and carry a pen, learn to use whatever your wearing as a weapon. If you work in Home Depot in the hardware department, grab a few hand tools and work with them. It was a well known fact that longshoreman were pretty nasty with a cargo hook.

If you're going to carry a weapon, make sure it is something you would feel comfortable carrying. This will make you want to create the habit of carrying it. As always make sure to field test it like we show you in the SDTS Combatives Program. There are quite a few tools I have been excited about only to watch them disintegrate in my hand when put to the test.

Gyms and mats are comfortable, clean and give you plenty of room but unless you live in one, you need to think about where you're training. You will most likely be attacked going to and from work, shopping, in your home and where you go for entertainment. Offices, stores, parking lots, bars, restaurants all have a few things in common: hard surfaces and lots of "debris" and clutter. You cant go 10 feet in any direction without hitting a piece of furniture or change in elevation. In the SDTS we show you how to set up a training area so you can learn to operate in those close quarters.

Get your mind set. "Mindsetting" is the simple act of looking at your environment and playing the "what if" game". What if an active shooter came down the hall and you were forced to deal with him? What weapons would you use? How would you plan your escape? How would you communicate to the outside world and call n the cavalry? Periodically going through these scenarios IN YOUR MIND will enable you to react when the time comes. Don't start freaking out your coworkers by grabbing a letter opener and running through the cubicles.

Do you like to drink? Good, now go get drunk and practice. No kidding. (I could see it now, sorry honey, Damian told me too!). But if drinking is a part of your lifestyle, you better understand what's going to happen to you when you have to "fight drunk."

Hey, we are all two people: the one we want to be and the one we actually are. Be honest with yourself and be honest with your training. The more honesty, the better and more realistic your results.

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.