The Self Defence Dilemma

When it comes to self defence training, you are faced with a choise. Do you want to learn the most efficient techniques, or do you want to learn the most efficient way that you can learn? This question may seem dumb, why settle for one of the two, why not learn the most efficient techniques in the most efficient way that you can learn them?

When defending your self, it takes far more skill to hurt an opponent than it does to kill an opponent. Managing to defend your self without hurting the opponent takes even more skill, and will depending on the circumstances sometimes not be an option if you wish to survive.

The easiest way to harm someone is to focus on vital targets such as the throat, the eyes, the groin and such. It’s also a lot easier to bite or scratch than to deliver a perfect punch or kick.

Those are the most efficient techniques. Why use your footwork to set up a jab, cross, hook, followed by a roundhouse kick, if you can simply pary and strike for the throat and the fight will be over then and there? If we leave aside legal considerations (which are different from one country to another), there is one problem with the most efficient techniques, and that is how they are trained.

You can’t apply a full contact strike to the throat, eyes, groin,  or any other vulnerable part of the human body unless you want to risk the health of the other person. If that was the case, the best form of self defence would be to avoid self defence training and classes.

But sparring with intensity is vital, as you won’t learn how to react under pressure, unless you’re put under pressure.

If you always train full blast, you will never get to try out the most dangerous (and often most simple) techniques. However, if you only train the deadly stuff and never go full force, you won’t know what it feels like to take a hit, or what you’re capable of (as well as what you’re incapable of) when put under pressure.

I advice you to balance both ways in your training, as one contains the strength which is the other one’s weakness and vice versa.€€