Self Defense Seminars: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Self-defense seminars, and specifically women’s self-defense seminars,
have enjoyed some popularity through the years. Within the martial arts
community opinions vary: Some say they are of very little benefit, some say they
have no value, and some even say they are counterproductive as they can give
people a false and unwarranted sense of confidence. I would say all three of these
views have some merit and represent what is good, bad, and ugly about self
defense seminars.


First let’s talk about the good. You can’t teach someone to fight over the
course of a 4-hour seminar, but there are some things you can do to help prevent
them from becoming a victim in the future. Let’s look at a few:
Promote safe behavior: If at least some of the seminar is devoted to helping
attendees adopt behaviors that will make them less likely to be a victim – that is a
good thing. Things like, parking your car under a street lamp, walking in groups at
night, always be scanning your environment, keeping your cell phone at the
ready, etc. are all behaviors that can help people avoid becoming the victim of a
violent encounter.
Serve as a starting point: When someone attends a self-defense seminar,
joins a gym, and starts training on a regular basis the seminar has been a
success.
Supplement existing training programs: Maybe you are training 1-2 times a
week at a school that is extremely focused on IBJJF style tournament jiu jitsu and
you would like some more self defense specific training. Catching a decent self
defense seminar once or twice a year may be just what you need.

Now let’s talk about the bad. Most people attending a self defense seminar
where they are shown a handful of techniques are under the impression that they
can then go use these techniques on the street to defend themselves. This is not
possible. There are skills and attributes necessary to prevail in an altercation that
cannot be obtained at a 1-day seminar. These skills and attributes can only be acquired through consistent training that includes “aliveness” and regular
sparring sessions. Let’s look at some of those skills and attributes.
Muscle Memory: Any technique you would use in an altercation to defend
yourself needs to be completely automatic and responses will only become
automatic when they have been repeated 1,000’s of times. Furthermore, muscle
memory is somewhat situational. If you only drill the move in a static
environment, you are likely only going to be able to repeat it in the same
controlled setting.
Fight Stamina: Whether it is because of a person’s inability to deal with the
adrenaline dump or a lack of activity specific conditioning, most people are
completely gassed and unable to continue in a fight within two minutes. Live
sparring will give you the activity specific conditioning you need. If you train and
choose to compete, that will help you get accustomed to the adrenaline dump.
The Ability to Comprehend the Violence: Assaults don’t start with a “slap,
bump, and roll”. Often the victim is caught off guard, starts the fight a step
behind, and never catches up. While we (hopefully) will never feel like we’re
facing sudden, overwhelming, and unprovoked violence, in the gym we’re often
caught with a quick hard takedown, or an inadvertent elbow/knee. This s not the
same as getting blindsided on the streets, but enough of these incidents will help
us be prepared for a more extreme situation.
Spatial Awareness: To defend yourself in a violent confrontation you need
to develop an innate understanding of distance and angles. Ideally, we keep the
attacker in front of us outside of striking range. If we can make that happen, no
fight happens. If we can’t make this happen, we at least want to keep the fight at
whatever range we are most comfortable at and definitely not let an attacker get
behind us.

And lastly, let’s look at the ugly. I don’t want to spend a lot of time here.
The fact is some of these seminars are simple scams – they do little other than
separating the attendee from their money. And worse yet, some students leave
with a false sense of security, and may end up catching the wrong end of a
beating because they now think they can “handle themselves”.

Long story short: Buyer beware. If you (or someone you know) is thinking of
taking a self defense seminar it can be a positive and productive experience if you
shop wisely, find a reputable instructor, and have realistic goals.
Train hard. Train smart. Get better.
Joe

More articles by Joe here

Epi 219 How Deep is Your Jiu-Jitsu Pool???

This week on the podcast we talk about a way to evaluate your game. Your collection of techniques fall at different skill levels. We look at these five different levels and give advice or depending on what level your technique is. Don’t think of it as all of your BJJ is at one level, think of it as parts of your game are at different levels.

The Depth of your Jiu-Jitsu Pool

  • Level 1- You don’t know how to swim = You don’t train Jiu-JItsu
  • Level 2- Standing in the pool = Becoming aware of the a technique
  • Level 3- Swimming = The BJJ you know
  • Level 4- Swimming in the deep end = Your best moves
  • Level 5- Deep dive = A part of the game that you are one of the best

Quote of the week: “Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.” Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Article of the week: How Much Do I Need To Cross Train To Get Better at BJJ?

Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 218 World and ADCC Champion Braulio Estima

This week we have BJJ legend Braulio Estima as our guest on the podcast. We talk about training, competing, and the Grappler’s Escape cruise you can catch him on April 29-May 6, 2018.

We talk about:

  • How his game has developed over the years
  • How to make an opponent uncomfortable
  • Making your opponent fight out of their game plan
  • Tips for training if you are the most skilled person in the room
  • Why it is so important to share with your teammates
  • How often to train, and doing mental training
  • The Grappler’s Escape cruise in April 2018

Links:

Quote of the week: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt

Article of the week: How to Play Up Sports On Your Resume

Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 217 Australia’s Rising Grappling Star Craig Jones

Craig Jones shocked his opponents and the world with his performance at ADCC this year and we are excited to have him this week on The BjjBrick Podcast.

We talk about:

  • His start with BJJ
  • Why some students like no-gi more
  • How he developed his Z guard game
  • His training for ADCC 2017
  • Training for the rule set
  • His matches with Leandro Lo, Murilo Santana, Keenan Cornelius, Xande Ribeiro and Chael Sonnen
  • Making the change from a grappling hobby to a serious sport
  • His plans in the future
  • Training and traveling
  • Training on a tight schedule

Links:

Quote of the week: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward

Article of the week: The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes

Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 216 BJJ in Cyprus with Black Belt Nick Unander

This week we have an interview with Nick Unander. Nick is a friend and former coach of Joe. Nick has been training martial arts since 1986. You can find Nick teaching and training BJJ in the island paradise of Cyprus.

We talk about:

  • His start in martial arts (Tae Kwon Do)
  • His first experience with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  • Make Jiu-Jitsu a career
  • Doing early MMA matches
  • Opening a martial arts school
  • Moving and opening new BJJ schools
  • Training under Marcelo Alonso
  • What new students should focus on learning
  • What he looks for in a blue belt
  • Blue belt blues (blue belts that quit training)
  • His thoughts on compeititon
  • His phrase Jiu-Jitsu will either take you, make you, or break you

Links:

Quote of the week: “Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.” Arthur Helps

Article of the week: Overcoming Fear in BJJ

Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod