How Many of You Train Self Defense?

[Nick Paul]

Stephen Kesting recently put out a video on street fighting where he made a few good points. 1) Avoiding an altercation is always the best option, running away, throwing something, beating the shit out of them with a 2x4, whatever you have at your disposal to ensure your own personal safety is the best option. 2)Your average idiot who is looking to start a fight in the street probably doesn't have much skill. Don't respect your opponent as a martial artist with a lot of mat time, stick to the basics, take the shortest path to victory. 3) The "don't take the fight to the ground" mentality is pretty silly, if you can slow the pace of the fight, take your opponent down, hold on to him and put him to sleep, that is a very real and viable option. I feel like 10P style of clinch and train as if you were striking fits right into that philosophy actually, which is pretty funny considering the old school Jiu Jitsu guys consider 10P "sporty" and "unrealistic" (cough cough Gracie Breakdown). I don't have any personal street fight experience (and I plan on keeping it that way), but the real root of the reason most of us started training is we want to be able to defend ourselves, not just win medals or show off flashy moves. I think that's the real martial artist mindset we have to keep. Do no harm, Take no shit