Hi,
I emailed a school which offers self defense and in my email I asked a few questions and
described a few things which worry me, like for example that in demo videos techniques all
work but that demo videos aren't very realistic and that I worry that you learn stuff which doesn't
work in reality.
And the guy replied and said that what counts is wether you have a fighting spirit and that if you're
a "head person" you can train whatever you want and you'll still get knocked out instantly!
Is this true? He also more or less told me that he wouldn't want me as student.
Now I'm really discouraged.
I mean sure, I ask a lot of questions. But does this really mean that even if I learnt self-defense
it still wouldn't work for me?! Does this argument make sense?
I actually have some sound advice if you are willing to listen. I've been doing Brazilian Jujitsu as my primary art (sport), and I do basic self defense seminars when I can. I carry a handgun for self defense and so a lot of my self defense stuff is more about either getting out of the way and NOT fighting...or getting up and getting away from someone. Space is my friend. Everything I do...I try and use my head and think about how do I avoid the fight...and how do I get out of the fight quickly. Why?
1) There is ALWAYS a bigger, better, badder, tougher, meaner, nastier fighter. ALWAYS!
It doesn't matter how good of an instructor you are...your instructor probably wouldn't last in a fight with a juiced up a Brock Lesnar. But your instructor might know some dirty techniques to keep himself alive long enough to pull a gun, keys, a knife, a rock, pen, or another person to help out. The reality is that he has to have have learned those techniques to use them. And he has to have drilled them long enough for them to be reaction...hard wired.
Self defense is a mindset. And you have to shape that mindset first. You shape that mindset by learning techniques and learning how to avoid fights. By playing mental games, and then learning how to turn off the chess game and just MOVE.
So the short version: get in and take classes. Just like any other sport. Being great doesn't mean you always win. It means you give yourself a better chance.
Sent from my grapefruit using smoke signals.