Grounded Self Defense Simulation Drill

Being on the ground when a bad guy is standing above and attacking you is very bad position to be in, but it is also common position that you may find yourself in. Regaining your mobility by getting back to your feet is a critical self defense skill. We use a simple skill development cycle […]

How Dojo Etiquette Can Sharpen Your Self Defense Skills

When you first visit a traditional martial arts dojo, it can seem a little otherworldly. People wearing strange clothes, saying some things in a foreign language, and what is up with all that bowing? Some people accept it as just how things are done, but worse are those that won’t ask why those things are […]

Verbal De-escalation Tactics and Intimate Areas

Here I talk about a couple of specific, but very important considerations for your conflict resolution/de-fusing/verbal de-escalation tactics. Keep your human brain engaged and avoid making a mistake that could cause an escalation to physical violence. Here’s a link to the article I mentioned at the beginning of the video: Scientists Map Out The Awkwardness Of […]

Awareness Part 1: Redefining Awareness and the Color Code Model

Awareness. Awareness is a buzzword in the personal defense community that is given a lot of mentions, but far too often accompanied with very little substance or understanding. Wednesday morning tragedy struck Virginia as a murderer shot and killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward, as well as attempted to murder Vicki Gardner. On behalf of […]

A Short Lecture on Violence, Personal Protection, & Fear Management

This was a short “scratch-the-surface” talk on just a few of the important concepts and principles developed by Tony Blauer and Gavin de Becker that we cover in our Personal Defense Readiness and Personal Protective Measures courses. Important principles that are rarely covered by conventional martial art based personal defense programs.