What happens if you’re attacked while walking up or down the stairs? In this video I analyse pros and cons of coming up the stairs or down the stairs when that happens. A basic tactical understanding of each position will benefit your chances.

As always t is never enough to know, you have to train as well. Training on stairs can be a quick way to put yourself in danger, which runs counter to the motive of self defense.

However, if you train and spar for close quarters on even footing, that will still benefit you in this environment… and with proper safety equipment or by going light contact, it is possible to actually pressure test these tactics on a staircase… in this video we did just that, testing different scenarios with self defense focused light contact sparring.