Extreme Self Defence

Practical Self Defence - no nonsense

Self defence is one of the most poorly taught subjects available. Much of the material that is taught is not only ineffective it is down right dangerous.

Ridiculous techniques that require grabbing knives out of thin air or applying complicated multi part moves that require high levels of dexterity, are very common and are a sure fire way to get you hurt.

I don't believe in get rich quick schemes and neither do I believe that you can learn to defend yourself in the space of a few weeks. Developing the skills that will protect your life and the lives of your loved ones takes years of training. For this reason training in a martial art should be the foundation of any self defence approach.

Not all martial arts are equal

There are many many martial arts available and not all of them make for a good basis in self defence. If self defence is your aim then steer clear of sports based systems such as the ones you see in the olympics or on pay per view. Sports based systems are excellent for competition but by their nature have weight classes, rules and referees. There are some superb fighters out there training sports based martial arts who would have no problem using what they know for self defence but they are not the norm, are usually natural fighters and are typically highly trained professional atheletes. If you are none of the above then my advice is to look elsewhere. At the other extreme much of the rubbish taught as self defence stems from the traditional martial arts and hasn't been subject to test in practical situations under the pressure of a resisting opponent for hundreds of years. Often moves are beautiful to watch, graceful, flowing and elegant. The reality is that they just don't work! Real fighting isn't graceful, real self defence isn't elegant, it is messy and dirty. Martial arts such as Wing Chun kung fu  and other simple systems that have minimal movements and look nothing but functional make the best self defence systems. As a simple rule, if the moves being demonstrated look easy then there is a good chance it'll work, if they look complex or flowery look elsewhere.