General

It is amazing and even quite sad how in this advanced age of communication, something as important as self defense is still so vastly misunderstood. Think about it: Ask 100 people what they think self defense is and you will get all manner of responses. The typical response is filled with images of cinematic flashy moves, breaking boards and bricks, and deadly secret death touches. Yet for the most part, these have little or nothing to do with how real people could or should try to defend themselves.

I've recently had a Gestalt like epiphany. Most martial artists have no idea what I'm talking about when I say "Reality Based Self Defense" or "Complete Martial Arts." I base this new found understanding on numerous emails from my readers. I decided to make a list of the major components of what a truly comprehensive big picture real life personal protection program must include. Here it is:

Like it or not, most altercations before the first punch is ever thrown. Yet, most Self Defense courses devote a great deal if not all of their training to physical techniques. This is because most Self-Defense courses are derived from the Martial Arts. The Martial Arts are technique-based systems where one begins slowly and after many years eventually masters various “Martial” movements and forms. These techniques require a high level of physical dexterity and fine motor skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IfkkJPb_h4

I've been a fan of Sigung Paul Vunak ever since I watched his first Panther JKD/FMA Videos that were released in 1986. I distinctly remember watching his now often imitated knife cutting demonstration. Sigung Vunak hung a big chunk of meat from a line and cut it with a knife. It demonstrated quite viscerally how dangerous a single knife cut could be, as well as how important it is to have viable edged weapon survival skills. A very important lesson for everyone to learn.

I borrowed the word "Integrative" to describe my approach to firearms training from "Integrative Medicine." True Integrative Medicine uses FUNCTIONAL healing methods from all over the world, be they ancient or modern, eastern or western. They only thing that matters is if it really works. Likewise, in my Integrative Firearms Training Program we use methods that are both ancient and modern, eastern and western and most importantly fully functional.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvgjn8o8B3Y
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In my blog post entitled "BJJ For RBSD" I covered several modifications that we needed to make to turn Brazilian Jujutsu into a viable Reality Based Self Defense method. There are two other important considerations that we need to be aware of as well.

"If you want to learn how to fight, you must practice fighting against someone who is fighting back!" Burton Richardson
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I've been a fan of Guro Burton Richardson for nearly two decades. My recent blog post "BJJ For RBSD" had at it's core Guro Richardson's STREET RULES, namely the Weapon Rule, the Multiple Opponent Rule, the Slam Rule and the Bite Rule. These are very well laid out in his JKD Unlimited For The Street Association October 2011 E-Newsletter.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/BurtonRichardson?blend=7&ob=5#p/u/22/IgUDc5w...
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Brazilian Jujutsu (BJJ) has a lot to offer the practitioner of Reality Based Self Defense (RBSD), however there are several key modifications that we have to make in order to turn a sport submission grappling system into a functional personal protection ground fighting method.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ9nXZEbUdA
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The name is derived from Korean words Tae, meaning 'foot', Kwon, which means 'fist', as well as Do which means 'way of'. So this martial art's name means 'the way of foot and fist.' It is South Korea's national sport. Athletic kicks and striking are what distinguish this sport. It is the one of the most popular martial art style in the world.