8 Signs to Help You Reevaluate What You Teach and Call Self-Defense
I began teaching professionally in 1974 and for the next 30-years, like every other martial arts instructor, I advertised and believed I was teaching self-defense. That changed when, in 2006, I was watching my kids in a karate class at Chris Sutton’s school.
Though his assistants usually ran the class, one day Chris stepped in and taught a ten-minute anti-abduction segment. My jaw hit the floor. I turned to my wife and said, “I could not have taught 1-minute of that. That’s the best self-defense I’ve ever seen.” It still is. She was equally impressed. She enrolled in the COBRA-Defense Academy and is now an instructor with over 100 hours of training.
Chris modeled the COBRA-Defense system after his training in multiple police academies and training as a street cop, sheriff, and maximum security prison guard.
Your self-defense program needs to be based on a real field training designed to protect against violent criminals on a daily basis. There is a massive gap between self-defense and what is taught in martial arts schools.
Eight Signs That You Need to Reevaluate What You Teach and Call Self-Defense:
- If you rehearse fight scenes for demos.
- If you teach kids that they can defeat a grown man with the standard kick and punch format.
- If you do not have weapon disarms as part of your curriculum.
- If a technique requires the attacker to hold his punch in a paused manner in order to conduct the defense.
- If an escape requires multiple fine motor movements instead of gross motor movements.
- If you do not conduct scenario training such as ATM robberies or home invasions.
- If it does not include command presence and tactical communication.
- If you have never received training from a platform that is used in real life confrontation against violence and criminals as it’s defined purpose.