The Vital Pyramid A proper self defense game plan starts with a few basic principles. Once you understand these basic principles, you'll be ahead of 95% of the population when it comes to self protection. From here on out, it's important that we use the term self protection, rather than self defense. The fact [...]
One of the most basic tools in our hard skills arsenal is the front snap kick, which will most commonly used to kick to the groin. This kick can work well in many situations, particularly when there is a significant size disparity between you and your assailant, and you are seeking to simply escape. It can [...]
If you want to have the ability to strike with power, you will need to have enough strength, since technique will only take you so far. With that in mind, I thought I'd share a few exercises to help you increase your striking power. You can see these in the video below.
One of the important principles in combatives and self protection is you need to learn how to hit hard. The quickest way to end an assault is to knock out your assailant. Most people think the best way to do this is with their fists. Generally, this is correct. Striking your opponents jaw, or other vulnerable [...]
In sports, particularly in American football, we often hear the adage "the best defense is a good offense." This basically means that, if you have a good offense, you are keeping your own defense off the field. If you are on defense, you are defending, and that effectively means you are losing. Remember how the Nazis [...]
In this day and age, it is critical that everyone carry some pieces of technology to aid in their self protection. Random assaults are simply too common to dispute this idea. This does not mean you need to run out and buy a handgun. In some cities and states, it is not legal for you to [...]
When people become interested in learning how to protect themselves in case of a street assault, they often turn to traditional martial arts training. Unfortunately, most traditional martial arts schools do little to prepare for street confrontations. There are a variety of reasons why this is the case... 1. Traditional schools place little emphasis on avoiding [...]
Most people, when they get in a fight, will typically use their fists. Unfortunately, many will end up with a broken hand, damage to their wrist, or even damage to their elbow or shoulder, because they don't know how to throw a punch properly. Furthermore, striking with your fists requires training and conditioning. When you are [...]
The Vital Pyramid is a concept of self defense and combatives originally conceived by John "Lofty" Wiseman, a former member of the British Special Forces. The four components of the Vital Pyramid include Mindset, Tactics, Skills and Kit. Mindset Most instructors in combatives will tell you that success in any combative situation is 90% mental and [...]
If you do a search on Youtube for self defense, or self defense for women, you will find a variety of videos demonstrating various techniques for dealing with specific types of assault. When you see an instructor demonstrate a specific technique for dealing with a specific type of assault, you can probably bet that instructor has [...]