What you need to know when searching for self defense classes.
In Virginia Beach alone, there are over a dozen schools teaching self-defense with different approaches and ideas. The core concepts are rooted in their base system or style. For example, a striking art like Karate will teach you how to defend yourself while standing on the ground, breaking holds & striking, while a school focused on BJJ will teach you tactics to go to the ground and hold an attacker. There is also another group of schools or instructors who promote self-defense, but the end product is limited and ineffective.
Self defense is simply an instinctive reaction to a physical threat, that protects you, or someone else from harm. It doesn’t matter if it is a habit learned from a striking art, like Karate, or a wrestling art like BJJ. If in the end the threat is contained and neutralized, and you were able to walk way and tell the tale, then your techniques worked.
However, there are those who teach “Self-Defense” in a manner inconsistent with the intent required. The training is too laid back, strong stances are not encouraged, intensity is also not encouraged. When you have a physical threat, the attacker is not laid back relaxed, he is focused, determined hyped up. You must flip the switch and go from 0 to 100 miles per hour, become determined, focused, and have the intent to defend yourself equal or greater than his intent to harm you.
Some things to be mindful of when searching our self-defense classes. While repetitive training develops muscle memory and instinctive responses, repeating the same 2 or 3 movements for months without an explanation of where it is going or pressure testing the techniques without added intensity is a sign that what you are learning is not self-defense.
Karate is based on defense turned to offense, as this initially requires what we loosely call a block. In Karate, there are only 4 basic blocks. Another flag that you should pay attention to, as mentioned earlier, is repeating the same movements day in and day out. One example of this would be simply standing in place, running through block sequences with no intensity or commitment of movement. It is common for “self defense” gurus to neglect rooting your movement to the ground and teaching you how to move, step, in response to your agressor.
The last indication you are dealing with a questionable self-defense guru is that he holds multiple black belts in many martial arts, and offers no proof of said rank. Such gurus will be proud to tell you about the various, high ranking people they have trained with. What they don’t tell you is how long (in years) they have trained with them. While it is true that going to a seminar for a day or a week would constitute training with the individual(s), it is also a lie of omission, as they paint the picture that they years of ongoing training.
Self defense is not learned over night, it is not based on the color of the belt around your waist, or how quickly you earned said belt. I have seen self-defense gurus promote students within weeks. Although the students were thrilled to receive a new colored belt, they questioned what they knew that constituted rank. When asked, the only response is “because I said you are”, followed by a price tag.
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