Protective Tactics 101

[Tez3]

However, many people who take a self-defense class make the assumption that a 1 week or 3 month course in self-defense is enough practice to be good enough to physically fight off an attacker with effective punches, effective kicks, and effective escapes.

There's an old joke that we had where I worked, it was about a woman who took a 12 week self defence course which involved lots of fancy techniques like wrist locks, judo type moves etc for fighting off an attacker but when the day came much later that she was actually attacked she beat her attacker off with her umbrella.

 

[drop bear]

You're partially right, but its also important to know that there is a big difference between sport fighting or fighting in a controlled environment vs a real self defense situation.

A big difference would be that your basics punches and kicks suddenly don't work like you have trained them.

Eg. You kick blue steel in the groin and he dosent go down. Through the power of play acting.

A minor difference would be that your knees or elbows get a scrape that wouldn't happen on a mat.

 

[Paul_D]

The truth about physical self-defense is that it's a fight. So it only makes sense to me that training to fight would be the best path to learning how to do that part of the self defense.

That may be your truth, but my truth is that fighting and SD are two completely different things, and fighting is only what happens once your SD has failed.

 

[Paul_D]

I find it curious that it costs nearly $3000 bucks and the qualifications of Don are not listed anywhere. But maybe someone else knows this guy.

Cheaper to just let the mugger take your wallet.

 

[JowGaWolf]

That may be your truth, but my truth is that fighting and SD are two completely different things, and fighting is only what happens once your SD has failed.

You are welcomed to believe that. If I walked over and started punching you in the face for no reason then you would be in a fight regardless of what you think. At that point you have 2 options. To either physically defend yourself or take the punches.

 

[Tez3]

You are welcomed to believe that. If I walked over and started punching you in the face for no reason then you would be in a fight regardless of what you think. At that point you have 2 options. To either physically defend yourself or take the punches.

Weeell, if you punched him once properly he wouldn't be in a fight he'd be KO'd..............

 

[JowGaWolf]

There's an old joke that we had where I worked, it was about a woman who took a 12 week self defence course which involved lots of fancy techniques like wrist locks, judo type moves etc for fighting off an attacker but when the day came much later that she was actually attacked she beat her attacker off with her umbrella.

I guess that's why we always hear in martial arts "train until it becomes natural." When the time comes to physically defend one's self, only the actions that feel natural are going to come out.

 

[PhotonGuy]

There's an old joke that we had where I worked, it was about a woman who took a 12 week self defence course which involved lots of fancy techniques like wrist locks, judo type moves etc for fighting off an attacker but when the day came much later that she was actually attacked she beat her attacker off with her umbrella.

That did really happen once in NYC. A woman took a self defense course, I don't know if it was 12 weeks, but then she was attacked in the city and she forgot everything she learned in the course and beat off her attacker with an umbrella she was carrying. She then reported it and she was charged with assault for beating the attacker off with her umbrella.

 

[Tez3]

That did really happen once in NYC. A woman took a self defense course, I don't know if it was 12 weeks, but then she was attacked in the city and she forgot everything she learned in the course and beat off her attacker with an umbrella she was carrying. She then reported it and she was charged with assault for beating the attacker off with her umbrella.

I find it extremely unlikely that she was charged with assault when she was defending herself. The law doesn't usually work like that even at it's worst.

 

[PhotonGuy]

The big difference between sport fighting and self defense fighting is that in sport fighting there's rules and the idea behind lots of the rules is to make the fight go on, to make the fight last so its not over too soon which would cause spectators to lose interest very quickly. People who watch fights want to see long fights. Take for instance boxing, its very restrictive in its rules. You only fight somebody in the same weight class as you. Also, you can only hit with your glove incased hands and only to certain parts of the body, you can't hit below the belt. Now, lets say they didn't have any rules in boxing. Lets say you weren't put in a weight class and you could bite, elbow, knee, headbutt, and use any other dirty tactic or trick in the book. If they allowed that most boxing matches would be over way too soon and people would stop watching it. Now with all the rules in place boxing matches last longer, sometimes for many rounds, and thus it keeps the spectators interest. True, occasionally there are boxing matches that only last seconds but most of them last at least a round or more.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I find it extremely unlikely that she was charged with assault when she was defending herself. The law doesn't usually work like that even at it's worst.

Ever been to NYC?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I find it extremely unlikely that she was charged with assault when she was defending herself. The law doesn't usually work like that even at it's worst.

Bill and myself were talking about this in an earlier thread. I got in a fight. I really didn't want to but it happened.
If she couldn't prove that she actually had reason to defend herself (if witnesses didn't testify, or he wasn't clearly being threatening) she could have been blamed for assault. Also, charged doesn't necessarily mean convicted.

 

[Tez3]

Bill and myself were talking about this in an earlier thread. I got in a fight. I really didn't want to but it happened.
If she couldn't prove that she actually had reason to defend herself (if witnesses didn't testify, or he wasn't clearly being threatening) she could have been blamed for assault. Also, charged doesn't necessarily mean convicted.

It's actually less of an old joke and more of an urban myth that a woman defended herself with an umbrella after taking self defence lessons, the part about being done for assault I have also heard, not in the US but in various cities and towns in the UK. I don't doubt at all it isn't real.

 

[drop bear]

The big difference between sport fighting and self defense fighting is that in sport fighting there's rules and the idea behind lots of the rules is to make the fight go on, to make the fight last so its not over too soon which would cause spectators to lose interest very quickly. People who watch fights want to see long fights. Take for instance boxing, its very restrictive in its rules. You only fight somebody in the same weight class as you. Also, you can only hit with your glove incased hands and only to certain parts of the body, you can't hit below the belt. Now, lets say they didn't have any rules in boxing. Lets say you weren't put in a weight class and you could bite, elbow, knee, headbutt, and use any other dirty tactic or trick in the book. If they allowed that most boxing matches would be over way too soon and people would stop watching it. Now with all the rules in place boxing matches last longer, sometimes for many rounds, and thus it keeps the spectators interest. True, occasionally there are boxing matches that only last seconds but most of them last at least a round or more.

If the no rules fighters were evenly matched the fight will generally go for a long time.

 

[Tez3]

The big difference between sport fighting and self defense fighting is that in sport fighting there's rules and the idea behind lots of the rules is to make the fight go on, to make the fight last so its not over too soon which would cause spectators to lose interest very quickly. People who watch fights want to see long fights. Take for instance boxing, its very restrictive in its rules. You only fight somebody in the same weight class as you. Also, you can only hit with your glove incased hands and only to certain parts of the body, you can't hit below the belt. Now, lets say they didn't have any rules in boxing. Lets say you weren't put in a weight class and you could bite, elbow, knee, headbutt, and use any other dirty tactic or trick in the book. If they allowed that most boxing matches would be over way too soon and people would stop watching it. Now with all the rules in place boxing matches last longer, sometimes for many rounds, and thus it keeps the spectators interest. True, occasionally there are boxing matches that only last seconds but most of them last at least a round or more.

Mmm you haven't promoted fights have you? People who watch fights don't particularly want to watch long fights, they will lose interest. People buy tickets to see their local people fight and hopefully win, they buy them to see exciting fights, they are quite happy with a short fight if it's entertaining. Long fights mean that the bar profits are down and people come out not just to watch the fights but to socialise, drink and eat. In MMA and boxing fights nights there's this thing called a card, you know where it lists all the fights, that keeps people interested. Watching quite a few fights wins over watching one long one. Perhaps it's just as well you don't promote I think you just matching one long fight would lose you a lot of money.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

If the no rules fighters were evenly matched the fight will generally go for a long time.

Not necessarily; this is only the case if they are both good. If they both suck, or have no experience, it could very easily end either with a lucky punch early on or them both gassing out and just giving up.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Bill and myself were talking about this in an earlier thread. I got in a fight. I really didn't want to but it happened.
If she couldn't prove that she actually had reason to defend herself (if witnesses didn't testify, or he wasn't clearly being threatening) she could have been blamed for assault. Also, charged doesn't necessarily mean convicted.

Well the fact that she reported it, that should go a long way towards proving her innocence. Bad guys don't call 911 and bad guys don't report physical altercations.

 

[drop bear]

Not necessarily; this is only the case if they are both good. If they both suck, or have no experience, it could very easily end either with a lucky punch early on or them both gassing out and just giving up.

Yes.
The better the fighters are the longer it will go.

 

[Don Johnson]

I found this system that teaches all sorts of protective tactics. Im wondering if its any good and if its worth investing in. The website is Don Johnson’s Protective Tactics 101

PhotonGuy, I just did a Google search on my company and found this thread. Thank you for starting it. I introduced Protective Tactics less than two years ago, and seriously began promoting fall 2015, so the word is just beginning to spread across the country. There is some interesting discussion here. I joined MT so that I may thank you and everyone who has participated in this thread and add value to a few of the posts.

 

[Don Johnson]

I find it curious that it costs nearly $3000 bucks and the qualifications of Don are not listed anywhere. But maybe someone else knows this guy.

Have you ever met someone with impressive qualifications, but as soon as he opened his mouth, you discover he can't teach? Since beginning in martial arts at age 18, I've now invested 33 years and over $400,000 in very specialized education. As a result, I've learned from some of the very best. I'm simply a student, who, over the past 30 years, has now had the privilege of teaching tens of thousands of others, people like you, with families like yours. If there is anything special about me, it is simply that I care, and I have a gift for teaching that empowers others to develop skills quickly and easily. In the case of Protective Tactics, I teach the Mindsets, Mechanisms, and offer the Mentoring that will Save Your Life and Save Your Family!