Self-Defense Instruction: Be On Guard!

Visit with any martial arts instructor who takes pride in his or her profession, and they will tell you they provide the absolute best self-defense instruction.  And the truth is, in just about every martial arts school in your community, you can learn something of value.  Every discipline - Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Hapkido, Aikido, etc. - can teach effective self-defense techniques.

However, on occasion, you might also learn something that will get you hurt more quickly than it will protect you.  It is unfortunate that at times, instructors lose sight of the true purpose of self-defense instruction:  to effectively protect the person employing the technique(s)  being taught.

There are a few basic reasons why an instructor might teach ineffective self-defense techniques:

• Ignorance - The instructor simply doesn't know that the techniques they are teaching are not effective.
• Indifference - The instructor knows that the likelihood of his students ever having to use their self-defense techniques in a real altercation are very low, and whatever they teach their students is better than nothing.
• Arrogance - The instructor simply can't believe that they might be teaching a technique that is not effective.

Whatever the reason that instructors occasionally teach improper self-defense techniques, the real issue is how the lay person, the student, can identify if what they are learning is genuine self-defense, or something else?  Here are some tips on how to recognize if the self-defense instruction you're receiving leaves something to be desired.

First, don't abandon your common sense.  If a technique seems to expose the practitioner to a greater risk of harm, then it probably isn't one you want to be trying.  Obviously, in any self-defense scenario, there is the possibility of harm.  But good self-defense techniques shouldn't increase the likelihood of harm.

Second, watch out for complicated or intricate techniques.  Despite what you see in the movies, the more complicated a technique is, the more likely it is not to work.  Like a machine that has many moving parts, each additional part creates a point of potential breakdown.  Like in many other areas of life, simplest is often best.

Finally, if the instructor is the only one in the class who seems to be able to successfully perform the technique, it should be a clue that it might not be one you want to actually try in a real confrontation.  The goal of any self-defense instruction should be to to ensure that the person learning the technique can actually perform it when necessary.  If students consistently have trouble demonstrating an understanding and proficiency with a certain technique, it's a good indication you should avoid it.

Again, it's important to reinstate, most martial arts schools teach very sound self-defense.  But there are those that don't.  It's important to be able to recognize poor self-defense techniques before you get hurt. 

For more information about the self-defense instruction taught at All American Martial Arts, click here.