How to Avoid Justifiable Failure Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Don t let your New Year s Resolution become a victim of another Justifiable Failure. Justifiable Failure is when you set yourself up to implode by manufacturing a reasonable excuse that masks the real cause of your loss fear. The fear is generated by the prospect of discovering how good (or how bad) you really are. Most people succumb to this fear while others, the few, the successful, face it, embrace t and make a change. This article will show you how to identify this problem and give you a road map to success. A fighter will lose when he tries a low percentage move in the ring. It will appear as if he s going for the knock out when in reality he s simply giving up. He ll walk off the mat and say, Well I went for it, but it didn t work . Even though he lost, he still feels he had some control over the loss and he doesn t have to face his fear that the other guy was just better than him. In front of his peers he s
http://bit.ly/1lxTAA2Tuesday, December 31, 2013
How to Avoid Justifiable Failure
How to Avoid Justifiable Failure Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Don't let your New Year's Resolution become a victim of another Justifiable Failure. Justifiable Failure is when you set yourself up to implode by manufacturing a "reasonab...
http://bit.ly/1kZckLkTuesday, December 24, 2013
The Fight Before Christmas
The Fight Before Christmas Damian Ross, The Elf Defense Company Twas the fight before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of Xbox danced in their heads. Me in my sweat pants and my wife in her wrap, Had just settled down for a long winter s nap. When down in the living room there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the noise I flew like a flash, Picked up my black jack, hid the jewelry and cash. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could go, To see something trying to slip in the window. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, A home invader, to steal my Christmas cheer! With a little drop step, I made sure not to slip, I knew in at that moment this must be done quick. More rapid than eagles my techniques they came, I grunted, an
http://bit.ly/1cPTW09Saturday, December 7, 2013
10 Minute Self Defense
10 Minute Self Defense Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company 10 Minutes is all it takes to go from Candy Ass to Bad Ass If you re living on this planet earth, you re in the game. Your chance of being attacked NEVER changes and only gets more probable the older you get. If you think you re too busy, too old, or too broke for self defense that s all going to change right now. Self defense training shouldn t be a luxury of the young and wealthy. Everyone needs this skill and now you re going to get it. Knowing how to protect yourself and your loved ones is a life skill that can be easily incorporated into your everyday life. The problem is your idea of training involves a lot of time and sacrifice and it s a pain in the ass in the long term. Training in a martial art or with an instructor is a short term solution. Sooner or later you ll get injured, move, change your job, lose your job, get married, have kids or get bored (Don t worry, your instructor does too) it happens to all of us. E
http://bit.ly/1f7X4IpFriday, November 29, 2013
Surviving the #BlackFriday #knockout game.
#blackfriday #knockoutgame Surviving the Black Friday Knock Out Game Damian Ross, the Self Defense Company If you feel compelled to get up at 4:00am and stand in the freezing cold after stuffing your face on Thanksgiving to save a few bucks on #...
http://bit.ly/181B687Saturday, November 23, 2013
How to Protect Yourself against the deadly Knock Out Game
New "Knock Out Game" by Teens Kills People at Random Media Suggests the Wrong Self Defense Solution - we give you the right one. Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company There's a new game kids are playing it's called "Knock Out". How it works: a g...
http://bit.ly/IlJ5TsWednesday, November 20, 2013
The Seven Signs Your Instructor's a Pussy - Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company
The Seven Signs Your Instructor's a Pussy Anti-violent mantras from the mouths of martial artists If you spent any time in a martial arts uniform, somewhere, someone along the line has told you to never use your art for violence. I call bullsh...
http://bit.ly/1e06apJTuesday, November 12, 2013
How to Fight Drunk - Street Fighting Tips
How to Fight Drunk Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Most fights involve alcohol it's the way of the world. You lose you inhibitions and judgment and before you know it, you're proposing to a house plant. If you have chosen a path of 100% s...
http://bit.ly/1aRylsxHow to Fight Drunk - Street Fighting Tips
How to Fight Drunk Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Most fights involve alcohol it's the way of the world. You lose you inhibitions and judgment and before you know it, you're proposing to a house plant. If you have chosen a path of 100% s...
http://bit.ly/1aRylsxTuesday, November 5, 2013
New Jersey Mall Suicide
We Just Got Lucky America New Jersey Mall Suicide Could Have Easily Gone Wrong - Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Last night, down the road from my house the latest cry for help was heard by some sick and twisted soul. While people are reli...
http://bit.ly/17KmUjYMonday, November 4, 2013
Too Old or Injured for Self Defense?- Damian Ross, the self defense company
Too Old or Injured to Learn Self Defense? Fact: If you're older, injured and appear to be weaker you're more likely targeted as a victim. Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Just like you see on the Discovery Channel - Predators Attack the W...
http://bit.ly/1a1f4ibToo Old or Injured for Self Defense?- Damian Ross, the self defense company
Too Old or Injured to Learn Self Defense? Fact: If you're older, injured and appear to be weaker you're more likely targeted as a victim. Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Just like you see on the Discovery Channel - Predators Attack the W...
http://bit.ly/1a1f4ibWednesday, October 16, 2013
Tabata Training for Self Defense
"How I Cut My Cardio Training Down to Fraction of the Time and Burned MORE Fat with Self Defense Training." Tabata Training for Self Defense by Damian Ross High-intensity interval training (HIIT), also called High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise ...
http://bit.ly/19J5ZN5Tuesday, October 1, 2013
How to protect yourself against the deadly Knock Out Game
New "Knock Out Game" by Teens Kills People at Random Media Suggests the Wrong Self Defense Solution - we give you the right one. Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company There's a new game kids are playing it's called "Knock Out". How it works: a g...
http://insider.theselfdefenseco.com/protect-deadly-knock-game/Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Hardest Thing About Self Defense
The Hardest Thing About Self Defense - When Should You Fight Back? Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Real self defense is technically easy; simple, gross motor skills developed to cause more injury to your target than you sustain. The most c...
http://insider.theselfdefenseco.com/the-hardest-thing-about-self-defense/Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Could the Naval Yard Shooting Have Been Prevented? - Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company
Could the Naval Yard Shooting Have Been Prevented? Learn the 20 Behaviors of All Mass Murderers By Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company [caption id="attachment_8501" align="alignleft" width="276"] There are 20 behaviors that ALL workplace mass ...
http://insider.theselfdefenseco.com/could-the-naval-yard-shooting-have-been-prevented-damian-ross-the-self-defense-company/Friday, September 13, 2013
Boxing still king - MMA won't get off it's wallet.
Boxing Still King while MMA comes up Short Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company Mayweather and Canelo will make a combined $53 Million for one fight. Compare that to the $38 million COMBINED CAREERS of the top ten MMA fighters of all time and you'...
http://insider.theselfdefenseco.com/boxing-still-king-mma-wont-get-off-its-wallet/Boxing still king - MMA won't get off it's wallet.
Boxing Still King while MMA comes up Short Damian Ross, The Self Defense Company [caption id="attachment_8478" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Show me the money: Floyd Mayweather will make almost as much in one fight than what the the top 10 MMA...
http://insider.theselfdefenseco.com/boxing-still-king-mma-wont-get-off-its-wallet/Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Get that "Killer Instinct" (Part 2)
You've seen the movies and heard the stories from the Mighty Achilles to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Folklore and Hollywood will have you believe that everyone who puts on a uniform is a trained killer, and anyone with a Black Belt is a lethal weapon. It's a myth that both martial artists and soldiers gladly let you believe, my self included.
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| Everyone thought Achilles thighs were vulnerable in his new armor |
Knowing how to injure, maim and kill doesn't mean that you'll be able to at the moment of truth.
Thinking that YOU SHOULD be able to do this has lead to HUGE performance expectations that have resulted in self doubt and lack of confidence in your WILLINGNESS to defend and protect yourself and your loved ones, but don't worry, I'm going to fix all that.
Know this: the "killer instinct" has been blown out of proportion.
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| S.LA. Marshall uncovered the truth about killing |
In fact the firing rate in WWII and Korea was an astonishing low 55%. That means that only 55% of soldiers fired their weapons in the direction of the enemy. Only 10% of soldiers actually aimed at the enemy.
Yet by Viet Nam things began to change.
Firing rates went up another 25% and now they are near 90% plus.
The questions we want answers to are:
Why were soldiers trained to kill, refusing to kill?
How did the army overcome this problem?
How does this information pertain to your training?
Why were soldiers trained to kill, refusing to kill?
Human beings, like any other species, have always been reluctant to kill one of their own kind.
It's not natural for any species to want to do this. It doesn't make any sense from a primary survival standpoint. A species would become instinct if every mating or territorial dispute was a fight to the death.
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| Animals of the same species NEVER fight to the death. |
Violence and anger do not make you a killer.
You will get mad at another human, you'll even fight another human, but you won't want to kill another human.
Humans have 4 ways to handle conflict:
1. Flight or run away
2. Submit or Shut down
3. Posture
4. Fight
Most animals, especially humans, engage in posturing. We make our selves look bigger, we point fingers and talk trash. Think of two dogs. They bark, they raise the hair on the backs of their necks. They'll even nip and bite but IMMEDIATELY stop once dominance is established. You literally need to train a dog to want to kill another dog.
The same posturing has been seen in war. Over the centuries troops will have battle cries, drums and bagpipes, banners and flags. All to intimidate and weaken the enemy before the fight.
As a species man would simply rather avoid a fight.
In war, most casualties in war come from long range weapons. Artillery, cannon balls, bow and arrows and long range missals have always done the most damage.
Killing the enemy face to face is NOT something humans enjoy.
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| Most deaths in ancient Greece came after the enemy was routed. |
During the American Revolution and Civil War where armies would line up in formation and fire at one another, the death rate was only about 1 per minute or two. This extremely low for trained soldiers standing at only 30 yards from the enemy, especially since the musket was accurate up to 75 yards!
As mentioned before, Marshall found that only about 2% of soldiers could kill on command and live with the consequences. The rest suffered from some form of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
For years PTSD was thought to be caused by fear of death. But it's not the case since people who have been exposed to the same risk of death have not exhibited PTSD.
During WWII civilians of both England and Germany were subjected to massive carpet bombing and air raids. They experienced not only loss of life, but loss of everything they ever owned and yet the cases of PTSD were no higher than during peace time.
It is only soldiers ordered to kill at close range who experienced PTSD. It was because the soldiers HAD TO KILL, that caused their stress.
How did the army overcome this problem?
Better training methods through inoperative conditioning.
We created training methods so that the soldier doesn't "think" about what he's doing.
He just acquires target and fires. These core skills are repeated over and over again.
But the ability to operate a weapon wasn't enough. Soldiers though out history have been well trained. There was clearly something missing.
The targets they were shooting and how the targets were presented was the key.
We all know that if the targets were LIVE that would trigger the soldier's aversion to kill and if they weren't real enough the soldier would not perform.
During Vietnam the Army went from Bulls-eye targets to Silhouette targets. Now the soldiers were being conditioned to shoot at more realistic shapes.
Later those targets became more life like and the surroundings changed from the range to the field where simulations were set up so targets would appear in an environment like the one the soldier would be operating.
More "realistic" surroundings = better performance.
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| A "Kill House" used by Colombian Spec Ops |
Now soldiers are trained to move, target pops up - shoot target, keep moving. They do this so many times that they can complete the action "WITHOUT THINKING".
The key point here is that the targets are "humanoid" and NOT human. Because we need to circumvent your aversion to kill another human being.
How does this information pertain to your SDTS Training?
Your target is something that resembles a human being. Heck we even have you dress him up.
Your conditioned response? He comes in range - you attack with a programmed set of core, gross motor skills at 100%, just like you would do if attacked.
Like a soldier you train those skills until you can do them in your sleep.
Like a soldier you will simply react with a conditioned response when placed in a specific situation.
In essence, like a soldier your SDTS training is programing a specific response to a specific trigger.
Soldiers are trained to move, acquire the target and shoot the target.
You're trained to establish distance and attack or flee once that distance has been breached.
You can't predict what he's going to do, it is a punch, a stab, does he even mean you harm.
However, you do know where he's standing and that's all you need to know!
At the end of the day you develop a skill set and a reaction that can be interpreted as a "killer instinct" but all we're doing in the SDTS is conditioning you to respond in a specific and consistent way in dangerous situations.
Will you become a mindless"killer robot"? You wish. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. You're instinct will tell you whether or not your in danger. Then you actually switch from your fore brain to your mid brain (that's a whole other article) then you react.
Remember, there's no such thing as tough, there's only trained and untrained.
Train Honestly,
Damian Ross
The Self Defense Company
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