Ho ho ho! Top Ten Personal Safety Tips for Christmas

HO! HO HO!

For many people, Christmas Day is the happiest and most festive day of the year. The whole season is one of joy, sharing, compassion and love. Regardless of what religious significance you attach to the holiday season, one cannot help but notice that the general feeling of good will does increase towards the end of December. Maybe it’s because we know we won’t have to go to work! Sadly, for some people, tragedy strikes to sour this most festive of occasions. Here’s how you can avoid it.

Self Defence Begins with the Self

The first time someone gets involved in a confrontation that spirals out of their control, their first thought is often “I need to learn how to defend myself.” With that, they will Google, they will read, and then will often end up at the local martial arts club, boxing gym or MMA academy. Convinced that learning how to fight better will solve their issues, they throw themselves into training. They attend class 2-3 nights per week, pay their money, sweat, bleed, cry and feel proud of their efforts. Next time when that bully/abusive  boyfriend/drunken idiot at the bar hassles them, they’ll teach him a lesson, right? Maybe.

Very rarely is a far more important question asked; “What could I have done to prevent this from happening in the first place?”

5 Training Tips for Mixed Classes

On the surface, developing a self defence training plan for a group of individuals doesn’t seem like rocket science. First you work out what kind of violence they are likely to be exposed to, draw upon experience and research to figure out the skills they need to prevent or combat that violence, and then put together a training schedule to ensure all members of the class are given enough time to adequately develop the skills required. Easy, right? Not so!

10 Signs He Might Be Violent - Avoiding Abusive Relationships

Violence, especially habitual violence, is not unpredictable. In fact, if you know what to look for, it is highly predictable. For many women, their biggest concern when entering a new relationship is that their new interest may in fact be a danger to their safety. The ‘strong, silent type’ that is at first so alluring may indeed be brutish and only silent because he knows no other way to communicate than with his fists. Every year, millions of women around the world are beaten and sexually assaulted by their boyfriends, husbands and partners. Read on for 10 telltale signs that you’re better off without him.

Video: Scenario Training

Another short video from the earlier years of Senshido. In this clip we see how scenario training with verbal dialogue and multiple attackers changes the training environment considerably. You also get a chance to see the Shredder in action in a live, no-compliance drill.

Video: Pattern Interruption

Greetings all. Sorry about the long break between videos, as you can see, we've been very busy! Today's video is again from Rich Dimitri and is a brief excerpt from his On the Cutting Edge Seminar. In this particular clip, Rich touches on the conceppt of Pattern Interruption and how to use your verbal skills to mask your physical retaliation. Enjoy!

Video: The Shift

Today's video is a nice example of where the Senshido International Movement is going, and also the overall ethos of Progressive Defence. Whilst we do teach reality-based self defence methods, this video outlines our true greater purpose - the elimination of violence, the empowering of people and betterment of humanity. Please watch.

Video: The Nervous System's Effects on Self Defence

Here is another clip from a recent Progressive Defence seminar in which chief instructor, Joe Saunders, outlines the effects of the sympathetic nervous system during a high stress violent altercation, and how it can impair combat effectiveness. Enjoy.

Video: Self Defence vs Fighting vs Martial Arts

In this short clip from a recent Progressive Defence seminar, our own Joe Saunders discusses some of the differences between self defence, fighting and martial arts. Enjoy.

Daily Video: 14.07.2010 - Self Defence Against Fruit

Another one just for fun today. :)

Sadly, this Monty Python skit is possibly more practical than much of what is taught as self defence in many martial arts academies these days. Enjoy!

Daily Video: 13.07.2010 - Senshido on Multiple Attackers

Today's video is from one of the original Senshido DVD's, "Outnumbered but not Outgunned" and deals with strategies to survive mutiple attacker situations. Enjoy!

Daily Video: 12.07.2010 - Martial Arts Bloopers

Just for fun today, a reminder not to take your training so seriously you can't have a laugh at yoruself. Remember to keep it simple!

Daily Video: 11.07.2010 - Dr Ruthless Women's Self Defence

This video comes from the famous (infamous?) "Dr Ruthless" Melissa Stoalt. I have in the past been critical of some of her material, but mainly due to the over-exagerated reactions of her attackers. Building confidence and self-esteem is one thing, but false confidence which can be crushed when a real attacker doesn't fly accross the room from your elbow strike is not good. Even so, there's lots of good info in this clip and it's a great learning tool for women looking for realistic self defence.

Daily Video: 10.07.2010 - Gracie BullyProof

The following clip is taken from the Gracie JiuJitsu "BullyProof" program and addresses their use of the term "Verbal Jiujitsu" as it relates to schoolyard bullying. While we don't necessarily agree with all points made in this clip, it is still interesting and worth watching. Enjoy. :)

Daily Video: 09.07.2010 - Abduction Protection for Children

Hello all. You may have noticed this video and the next one are being posted retroactively. We must apologise, as circumstances beyond our control prevented a daily video being posted on time for Friday and Saturday. However, they're coming now!

Our first video is a great segment from Tracie Arlington of Play It Safe Self Defence on the Dr Phil show. In this segment, Tracie shows one of the best tactics (and remember, in the real world, tactics are always more important than techniques) to teach a child to prevent abduction. Quick, easy to learn and most importantly, effective! Every parent should teach their kids this tactic.

Daily Video: 08.07.2010 - The Gift of Fear

In this video, Gavin DeBecker speaks to an American TV show about his outstanding book "The Gift of Fear" and the principles of intuition and violence prediction he uses in his service to his clients. This is a three part series, but is full of fantastic information. If you are interested in real self defence and have not read DeBecker's work, you owe it to yourself to pick up "The Gift of Fear" and read it cover to cover. Enjoy.

Daily Video: 07.07.2010 - "The Raw Directive"

Today's video contains some bad language, so once again, if you have kids or impressionable minds around, best you err on the side of caution.

It comes, once again, courtesy of the AIM Academy in Melbourne (see Resources section) and features RAW Combatives chief instructor, Jim Armstrong. While we do differ in choice of technique in that we advise against closed fist punching for those without high degrees of training, Jim's core message about "flicking the switch" and making a decision to attack is key to all effective self defence. And he phrases it in a way that only a Geordie can. :)

Enjoy!

Daily Video: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim

This is an oldie but a goodie. In this clip from the early 90's, Marc MacYoung gives some fantastic tips on how to avoid common violent crime. While some of this information has since been supplemented with modern studies and methods, there is a lot of gold in this clip. Enjoy.

Daily Video: 05.07.2010 - Juggernaut Self Defence

Today's video comes from Juggernaut Self Defence, care of the AIM Academy in Melbourne.

In this video, Juggernaut himself demonstrates how to "Cover, drop and drive" into an attacker and use body movement to put them off balance. He uses many of the same principles as are taught on Progressive Defence seminars, so this could be interesting for Progressive Defence students and non-students alike. Enjoy!

Daily Video: 04.07.2010 - Rich Dimitri on Knife Defence Mistakes

DISCLAIMER: First things first, this clip contains some bad language, so best not to watch with impressionable young minds (or bosses) around. Secondly, this is from a time in Rich's life when he was quite an angry man and has since publicly apologised for the manner in which he conveyed his message in this clip. He regrets the resentful and derogative tone of the message, but stands by the content.

All that aside, Rich raises many valid points in this clip. If you watch this, and then go back and watch the "How NOT to Defend" clip yesterday, you will see what he's/we're talking about. Enjoy. :)

Daily Video: 03.07.2010 – How NOT to Defend Against a Knife Attack

As a follow up to the last video, here is an example of two "experts" showing an irresponsible technique.



I'm not into trashing individual styles, as quite often it's the practitioner or instructor that makes the style, not the style itself. However, I will address this particular technique sequence. Notice that this is done with absolutely zero intensity or realism. The attack slowly lunges forward and then freezes. Why would he do this? He doesn't with draw his hand and try to stab again (reality) which would in effect cancel the following up joint manipulation into the hammerlock. I also seriously doubt he'd be able to stab his assailant in the back, or strip the knife so easily.

This is why we MUST train with intensity and energy! I don't know who these two gentlemen are, but I'm sure they think they're doing the right thing and teaching quality self defence. But quite simply, trying this will get someone killed! This is one of the reasons why the entire Progressive Defence team, as well as all of our recommended trainers, pressure test every technique before teaching it to anyone else. We need to be sure it works.

Please keep this in mind next time you think you're learning an awesome technique that is sure to impress your friends. Often it's the unimpressive techniques that work.

Daily Video: 03.07.2010 – Realities of Knife Attacks

Okay, so we missed a video yesterday! To make up for it, we'll be uploading two videos today and one tomorrow that are all related to knife defence. Few subjects in the martial arts and self defence are taught as irresponsibly as knife defence. Anything fancy, anything tricky, anything that looks too "Gucci" is not going to work. Period. With a committed, frenzied knife attack, any small mistake you make can be fatal. The first video is from StreetFightSecrets and addresses this point quite well.

Daily Video: 01.07.2010 - ATM Mugging Defence

Today's video comes from Tony Blauer, founder of Blauer Tactical Systems. In this video, Tony goes through a great strategy for avoiding being mugged at ATMs. It requires intuition, quick thinking and a little bit of acting, but it's certainly a better option than fighting for your life or losing all your money! Enjoy.

Daily Video: 30.06.2010 - Forgiveness is Power

Today's video comes once again from one of the pioneers of RBSD training, Geoff Thompson. In this video, Geoff talks about the importance of forgiving those that have done you wrong - not for their sake, but so that you may allow yourself to let go of the "duty" attached to hatred and vengeance. This video may not be for everyone, as it discusses some very sensitive issues regarding pedophilia, of which Geoff was a victim as a young boy. I encourage everyone to watch it and make up their own minds.

Daily Video: 29.06.2010 – The Bystander Effect

Today's video is a news story about a man who acted in good faith to help a woman being mugged, only to be stabbed and have no one come to his aid as he bled to death. The Bystander Effect is something that is addressed in a variety of Progressive Defence courses and this is a classic example of it. Look for future articles on the subject and how we can safeguard ourselves against it.

Daily Video: 28.06.2010

Today's video is one of the original promotional clips for the ISR Matrix Defensive Tactics system that forms a large part of our Security and Law Enforcement defensive tactics courses. A number of the techniques displayed in this video (ie, stomping, striking) are not strictly taught in the law enforcement package anymore, but are reserved for civilian self defence and military combatives. That said, this is a great demonstration of what we mean when we say "Training with intensity!"

Daily Video: 27.06.2010

Today's video comes from a CBS news story on George Thompson's Verbal Judo. George is a little ill in this video, but this is still a great example of tactical communication for law enforcement and security. Quote of the video: "I'm selling you compliance." Enjoy.

Daily Video: 26.06.2010

Today's video is not directly related to self defence, but sound mind and sound control over our emotions are just as vital to good self protection as any kind of fighting skills. Here, one of the early pioneers of RBSD training, Geoff Thompson, talks about turning negative emotions into positive energy and the amazing things he's been able to accomplish as a result. Let us know if you enjoy it!

Daily video: 25.06.2010

Today's video comes from Rob Halaijian from the A.I.M Academy in Melbourne. This video does a great job of examing timing and distance as it pertains to weapon attacks. Enjoy.

Daily Video: 24.06.2010

Check out this video as Richard Dimitri gives perhaps one of the best, most concise explanations of the difference between fighting and self defence. Enjoy.

Daily video: 23.06.2010

This video is from Richard Dimitri's 2007 seminar in Sydney.

While demonstrating his Shredder concept, Rich was asked how well it would work against a grappler. Never one to let words alone prove his point, Rich asked the most experienced grappler in the room, our own Joe Saunders, to do a live, no-compliance drill with him. The drill would be that Joe had to submit Rich doing anything he wanted, while Rich would only use the Shredder concept. After a highly unsuccessful Round 1, Joe had a second chance in Round 2, this time starting standing up. Despite managing to catch Rich with a hip throw which badly aggravated an old shoulder injury, Rich continued fighting and would have removed Joe from his sight had it been a real altercation. Watch for yourself!



This is a great example of the survival mentality that I referred to in the recent article "Permission to Survive." Despite being taken by surprise, put in a disadvantageous position with a much larger person on top of him, and suffering a serious injury, Rich continued to fight and survive. There's a lesson in that for all of us.