Your inner dialogue is shaped by the thoughts we think. The thoughts we think about ourselves matter. Your self worth and how you see yourself influence the experiences you have in your life. The signal you transmit to others is based on your predominant thoughts. If you think you are weak, or you are not confident then you are broadcasting this to the world around you. Most importantly this includes people who may take advantage of that weakness or lack of confidence.

A lion will watch a herd of buffalo and pick out the weakest, must vulnerable target to attack. Likewise human predators will do the same. It is very rare that aggressors will just attack the nearest target. They will study and watch people. They will be picking up signals about body language and awareness. If your inner dialogue is saying “I am feeling a bit nervous” or “I am a bit unsure being here” other people will pick up on this.

Two researchers, Grayson and Stein did a study in New York where they filmed random people walking down a busy street. The people being filmed were unaware of this. They then showed the footage to a group of convicted criminals and asked them to identify people who would make easy targets and those they considered would be best to avoid.

Within a few seconds the convicted criminals had made their decision. It appeared that people were considered to be easy targets based on what they were communicating to the world through body language, movement and inner dialogue.

Part of your self defence training is to be fully aware of your own inner dialogue. If you find yourself thinking fearful or other disempowering thoughts, replace them with more powerful ones. Use more positive statements – “I am fully aware of my surroundings”, “I am strong and confident”, “I am switched on and ready for anything”.

Be careful in situations that are unfamiliar to you. This is when you have to keep a close check on your inner dialogue. Often it is the fear of the unknown that can set your mind racing with what if’s.

There is a difference, however, between this type of inner dialogue and gut instinct. You must learn to distinguish between the two. Having faith in your gut feeling is important and by being aware of your internal dialogue you will, with practise, be able to tell the difference between this and unhelpful, negative self talk.

Certainly being prepared and knowing physical techniques to deal with confrontational situations will give you the skills and confidence to deal with potentially violent situations. If you would like to find out more take a look at our full product range on the home page.

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In a street confrontation there are no rules, no referees, probably no one there to break it up and do you seriously think you can tap out ? In this situation anything goes and you have to expect the unexpected.

So how can we properly train for the unexpected ? Your training needs to include realistic rehearsal training and must include techniques and strategies based on what is happening out there.

For reality based training to be effective you must be exposed to, and learn how to deal with three main conflict stages.

Stage 1 – Pre Fight

Most situations can be avoided before they even start provided your training includes strategies, tactics and realistic rehearsal. Developing awareness skills, threat assessment and verbal skills should all form the beginnings of your pre fight training. Learning how to avoid confrontations both physically and mentally is a critical part of any realistic self defence program.

Stage 2 – In Fight

This is the stage that a great deal of self defence courses and martial art schools focus on. The problem here is most of them are based on tradition, set sequences or just theory.

Remember earlier I said you have to expect the unexpected. Not one confrontation is going to be the same and using complex forms or patterns for a certain situation is very unlikely to work in reality. The conflict stage is very unlikely going to be just you and a single opponent and your training needs to reflect the complexities and varieties of situation you could face. Training to fight one opponent is no longer realistic. What about ways to fight criminals with weapons, dealing with gang attacks, muggings, rape attacks, robberies ?

Does your training deal with the different levels of force needed to handle these different levels of violence ?

Stage 3 – Post Fight

There are many areas that your realistic self defence training should incorporate here as well. This may be administering first aid, effective escape methods, ways recall attacker description and incident details.

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defence training. This is state of the art techniques and training that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defence why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in.

Take your training to the next level and keep your training real.

To learn more about effective self defence training please take a look at our Ultimate Self Defence Course.

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1. Always warm up and stretch properly before you go out jogging. This will reduce the risk of a pulled muscle while you are out and avoid the risk of having to stop part way through your run. Remember lions do not attack the fittest member of a herd. Likewise for an attacker.

2. Always jog facing the oncoming traffic and if possible, stay on the pavement.

3. If you are running late at night or early in the morning be sure you run in well lit areas. Inform someone of route and how long you expect to be.

4. Stay visible especially if running during the early or late parts of the day. Try wearing bright clothing – white, yellow and orange are more visible. If you can wear reflective clothing. If this is too much then try wearing reflective wrist or ankle straps. There are trainers and certain clothing items that have this.

5. Vary your route and times so that other people will not notice your pattern.

6. When taking a new route or one you are unfamiliar with be careful of the terrain. A lose paving slab or a pothole could cause you injury.

7. Always take some form of identification with you. This could either be your driving license or just a note with your contact details and emergency contact details on it. If you are on holiday then take a card with the hotel name and phone number on it.

8. Carry a small amount of money with you. That way if you do pick up an injury a long way from home you will be able to get the bus back or be able to get change for a payphone. Ideally this should be a note rather than change. A note can fit easily into your sock and is less likely to fall out of a pocket.

9. Try to run with someone else. There is strength and safety in numbers. If you are on holiday ask around to see if anyone else will come with you.

10. Never wear headsets. This will reduce your awareness significantly.

11. Be aware of alleys and people’s driveways. You must learn to constantly be aware of your path ahead and anticipate not only people, but vehicles as well.

12. If you are staying at a hotel then ask them about safe place to go running. Try to find out if there is a proper running track nearby at an athletic club or local school that you could use.

13. If a car seems to be following you at a slow speed, stay calm and jog into a busy public area or building. If it is safe to do so watch the drivers reaction and try to get the license plate number.

14. Consider carrying a mobile phone with you. That way you will be able to contact someone if anything happens or you notice anything unusual.

15. Trust your instincts. If you feel you are entering an unsafe area or place change it. Run in a safer location.

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Psychology has proven that mental rehearsal has a massive impact on performance. Top athletes use mental rehearsal, also known as visualisation, when preparing for events. So how do you apply this to self defence ?

What you need to do is create self defence scenarios in your mind and make decisions about what you would do at each stage – pre-fight, in-fight and post-fight. In an actual confrontational situation your thought process may be impaired with the onset of adrenaline. Planning through various encounters will make you feel like you have been in that situation before and dealt with it correctly and effectively.

The most effective way to practise this is in a lightly relaxed state. It is important to do this when you are not going to be interrupted and you need to calm your mind from all the daily thoughts and distractions first.

Some Questions to Help Your Thought Process

1) How could your prevent your scenario from happening?

2) What could you do to de-escalate the situation?

3) What escape routes would be available?

4) Once you escape, where would you go?

5) How would you deal with your adrenaline rush?

6) If your scenario calls for it, how would you attack to enable your escape?

Also, if you have ever been unfortunate enough to have found yourself in a self defence situation or a close encounter, think back and analyse what happened. What did you do right and what would you have done differently ? However, do not replay it in your head as if you were in some action movie!

There is some value in writing down the various scenarios you come up with. This will help you to think through your ideas and reinforce your training.

Physically you can prepare for an encounter through role play. Take the scenarios you have thought through and rehearse them with a friend or training partner. The level of realism you put into each scenario is your own choice. It would be best to start off slowly and methodically and build up from there.

You could also look at a recent crime from the news. On your own, or with a friend, talk about how you would have dealt with it. What were the mistakes the victim of the crime made? Were there ways that it could have been avoided?

Without being mentally and physically prepared it is unlikely that you will perform well. If you do not have the proper training you run the risk of either over or under reacting to the situation.

As Roger Staubach said “It takes a lot of unspectacular preperation to produce spectacular results.”

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defence training. We focus on state of the art techniques and training methods that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defence why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in.

Take your training to the next level and keep your training real.

To learn more about the other areas of this highly effective system visit our website here.

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Part of your training should include developing verbal skills to enable you to defuse this sort of aggressive behaviour before it escalates. Being able to successfully use these skills will help to prevent a potential aggressor from launching into a physical attack.

Generally a person being verbally aggressive towards you is doing so to “size you up”, they are trying to determine whether or not you are going to be easy prey. Their language is aimed to intimidate you and to try and get you to fall into their script.

They are looking to see if you become passive, fearful, timid and/or nervous. These signs show the aggressor that you are probably going to be an easy target.

Now there are times when you may want to use this type of behaviour as a deceptive strategy, however this carries a higher level of risk. The best course of action is to avoid showing these outward signs. Internally you may be fearful and afraid, but it is important that externally you appear focused, confident, relaxed and ready.

Some situations can start with as little as eye contact. You could be in a busy bar or club and inadvertently make eye contact with someone. Next thing you know they are right up in your face saying “What the f*** are you looking at ?”. It is important to remember you aim here is de-escalation. Do not get caught up emotionally on what is going on. Try using closed statements rather than questions or open sentences. Simply replying with “nothing”, or “I wasn’t looking at you” will probably lead to a continuation of this aggressive behaviour.

Questions about the supposed ‘facts’ rather than feelings can be useful. Also, listening carefully and showing empathy without patronising their concerns could help.

If a person yells at you, the automatic reaction is to raise your voice. However, this is signalling to the aggressor that they could be under threat and will do nothing to de-escalate the situation. Keep your emotions in check. A calm reply and a cool head will help keep you in control of the situation.

A person who is upset or angry towards you will not be able to focus well on your actual words. It is important that you speak slowly and clearly. If your speech is too rapid they will miss most of what you are saying and you could quickly loss control of the situation.

Although you may not know the person confronting you, pay close attention to the person’s verbal behaviour. If their voice starts to become more agitated and louder it could be a sign that they are preparing to attack. The same can be true if their voice lowers in volume and tone.

It is important to think about your body posture in this type of situation. This should be non-threatening and calm. You should appear confident and self controlled without being dismissive or over-bearing. Slightly turn your body angle to the other person and keep your hands in view.

Allow yourself personal space and create some if necessary. Position yourself towards possible exits. The last thing you want is for the aggressor to be blocking your only way of escape. Be careful that this is not done with a sudden movement as this could be perceived as an attack. When positioning, do so without entering the other person’s personal space. Doing so will intensify their emotions as their brain is most likely under the effects of adrenaline.

Above all avoid making threats or giving ultimatums as all you will do is put yourself in a win lose situation.

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defence training. We focus on state of the art techniques and training methods that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defence why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in.

Take your training to the next level and keep your training real.

To learn more about the other areas of this system and the step by step approach visit our website here.

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On a hill sat a fox and cat next to an old oak tree. Looking off in the distance they could see a pack a ravenous dogs heading in their direction. The fox turns to the cat and says “Foolish dogs, do they not realise I know over 100 techniques for avoiding them. Cat how many do you know?” The cat, looking very slightly scared, looks at the fox and say “Only one.”

The fox laughs and says to the cat “You have a big problem my friend. What if your one technique does not work. Surely you can see the need for knowing many techniques”

The cat replies “It has never failed me. Every time I have found myself in this situation my technique has always worked.”

“These dogs will be upon us soon.” says the fox “I had better decide which of my many techniques is best to use.”

The cat, deciding to wait no longer, climbs the old oak tree and calls to the fox “Quick the dogs are nearly upon you, hurry. I have used my technique, use one of yours.”

Panic is now gripping the fox. “I am still deciding.” The fox shouts back with increasing fear in his voice. Seconds later the dogs are upon him and he is killed while the cat watches on from the top of the old oak tree.

This story shows that too many techniques can create what has become known as log jam. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself being attacked you need simple, easy to perform techniques that use gross motor skills. Techniques that use fine motor skills are incredibly difficult to perform when experiencing an adrenaline dump.

It is important to have a few, simple, effective techniques that work for you. If your attacker grabs the front of your jacket, there is no need to know 100 different ways of dealing with this.

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defence training. We focus on state of the art techniques and training methods that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defence why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in.

Take your self defence training to the next level and keep it real.

To learn more about the other areas of this system and the step by step approach visit our self defence course page.

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Self defence is something that I am passionate about and as such I have seen dozens and dozens of DVDs on this subject. I really can’t get enough of them. Some of them have been absolutely excellent and others have been, in my opinion, appalling. There are some out there that have been done by very experienced martial artists however, these can sometimes be overcomplicated with difficult techniques or can be techniques that may have worked several hundred years ago, but aren’t relevant to a modern street fighting situation.

I guess it depends on the market they are aiming for. In my opinion though a good self defence DVD will contain simple, yet effective techniques that will involve using gross motor skills (your fine motor skills go out the window with the effects of adrenaline). And these techniques and skills have to have a percentage chance of working. A good self defence DVD should discuss fear and adrenaline and have strategies and techniques for this. It should cover awareness and deal with how to avoid potentially life threatening situations as well. For further information please click here.

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defence training. We focus on state of the art techniques and training methods that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defence why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in.

Take your training to the next level and keep your training real.

To learn more about the other areas of this system and the step by step approach visit our website here.

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Now do not get me wrong, I am strongly for people learning martial arts, which ever discipline it may be. Whatever art you do or decide to do will hopefully teach you how punch effectively, perhaps kick effectively, get you used to seeing punches heading your way, hopefully challenge you both physically and mentally. There are styles that will teach you how to lock up joints, fight from the ground and throw people. Just how much of the technique is useful and how much is very “Hollywood” is up to you to decide.

What will probably be missing and is crucial, is awareness skills, avoidance strategies, dealing with the pre-fight and most importantly anticipating and dealing with the effects of the adrenaline rush.

With most traditional martial arts people train to fight other people of the same style or discipline. This can be amazing to watch as it is really a show of technical superiority. However, in a street situation it violence can happen suddenly. There is no ring or judge or time to prepare mentally.

The situation on the street can hamper you. The surface maybe slippery or uneven, there may be no room to line up an attack, it could be dark, your clothing could be restrictive and confine your moves. This is a million miles away from your normal training environment where you may wear loose and comfortable clothing, you know the rules and the boundaries.

Martial arts on its own can help improve a person’s self esteem, improve their confidence and help get you in shape. Well it help you to defend yourself in a real street situation ? Perhaps, though it could give you a better chance if your training involved effective self defence techniques and strategies. Also it could include some reality training and how to deal with fear and adrenaline.

If your goal is self defence then there are other easier routes to this end. As the saying goes “the journey starts with a single step” make sure you go the right way.

For more information on effective self defence techniques and strategies, dealing with fear and adrenaline, and reality training please click here.

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defence training. We focus on state of the art techniques and training methods that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defence why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in.

Take your training to the next level and keep your training real.

To learn more about the other areas of this system and the step by step approach visit our website here.

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