Why Dynamic Self Defense Is No Good For Tournaments
Self-Defense, Training Tips | Written By: Andre Vatke
There are probably thousands of martial artists that are more graceful and fluid than I am. There are better kickers, faster punchers and better grapplers.
But none of this matters when it comes to self-defense…
When you come home to find three thugs inside your home cleaning out your possessions (as happened to my neighbors in The New Albany Country Club recently), how good you look performing your Kata is irrelevant.
At that point all that matters is that you survive the encounter.
Self defense isn’t just about fighting (it has a lot to do with awareness and preparation). But when it comes down to an only resort, it’s about reacting reflexively. And this takes more than just reading a book or watching a video.
Should you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to fight to survive, thinking about your next move isn’t something you want to rely on.
Just last night after a strenuous Dynamic Self Defense class in New Albany my wife called me to ask me to pick something up from the store. My mind had a hard time even comprehending what she was asking because I was too exhausted to think clearly about new instructions.
The funny thing is that just moments before I was simply reacting to random ground defense drills with guys aggressively trying to pin me. In this mode I was actually relaxed and found holes to exploit for self-defense. But the only reason I could do that – even after an hour long workout - was because I’ve done it a thousand times before.
And that’s the real secret to being good at anything… practice. If you practice looking good, performing fluid Kata’s or for winning tournaments, that’s what will come out when you are forced to fight for your life. Unfortunately that probably won’t cut it in terms of making sure you survive.
At Dynamic Self-Defense we train for one thing and one thing only… surviving a violent encounter. If you want to win a competition or just show off your athletic ability, we’re the wrong school for you. If on the other hand, you want to gain the confidence that you can indeed handle any typical modern violent encounter – regardless of your age or present state of fitness – give us a call to schedule a time to observe a class for yourself.