Self-Defense, Training Tips | Written By: Andre Vatke

I was watching a few videos on YouTube the other day from people training in the style of Karate I used to train (Guju Ryu). One video in particular got me thinking that… you really can’t learn self defense from a video.

I’m not here to discredit other styles nor do I desire to critique every video I see. Some of what I learned in the past has a practical application and there are other styles I have great respect for. But honestly most of what I learned before Dynamic Self-Defense did not become practical until well into my DSD training.

When you watch a video, especially when it comes to traditional styles, you will often note that the defense to a technique thrown by an opponent can often become overly complex. In one video I watched two military guys demoing a Karate technique to block and counter a front jab. It was essentially a block and trap with a counter punch.

While the entire sequence looked impressive especially in near full speed it would be impractical in real life – especially in a combat scenario. The reason is simple…

It’s easy to block and counter when you know what the other guy is going to throw.

If you’ve ever watched an MMA match or one of the many "this martial art vs. that martial art” video’s you’ll notice that all the technical trapping and counter techniques fly right out the window. What you are left with resembles basic boxing and maybe basic grappling depending on what you are watching.

This is where it’s essential to understand the phases and purpose of training. When you train technique you need to work with a partner that’s clued in to the program. Otherwise someone is going to get hurt.  In this mode your training partner gives you the opportunity to block, trap, counter, takedown or whatever you are working on. They don’t go too hard and they don’t mix it up.

This is where most traditional martial art training stays - basically in the theoretical state. Because you know what’s going to be thrown it’s easy to get complacent or fancy – working increasingly complex traps and counters. The problem is that this movie scripting doesn't even begin to work in the real world where the other guy has a brain and won’t play along with your plan.

When faced with a violent encounter you need to count on the fact that you will be at best half as good as on your average training day. You will instantly be under a level of stress that will push your limit. You will be in survival mode. In this state you will depend on your reflexes and the techniques you use will be the ones you trained 1000 times before. The closer your training is to simulate this environment the greater the odds that you will effective. This is where a DVD falls short. It provides you with no training environment and no expert feedback.

In Dynamic Self-Defense we don’t train complicated traditional techniques. What we train is as close to real life as it gets while still keeping a safe environment. In this controlled environment students first learn new techniques methodically but as skills and reflexes increase they learn to improvise based on the principles they have learned and the skills/reflexes they have developed. This type of training allows students to develop practical defense skills in a way that traditional martial arts simply cannot.

Schedule to preview a class at our New Albany, OH studio to see if our martial art is a fit for you. We are only 10 minutes away from Westerville, Gahanna, North East Columbus and Johnstown Ohio.