Recently I stumbled upon the following description on a website and it honestly made me cringe. Why? Because it shows a true misunderstanding of the subject. I have changed the actual description using my own words because I have no interest in bringing negative attention directly to this school or their website. However, I do believe that if an instructor or a school doesn't truly understand the difference in training methodologies, they shouldn't be in this business. My objective is to help readers understand the difference between those instructors that actually care about the student's safety and those just looking to make a few dollars.


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Self-Defence / Mixed Martial Arts

Through the same training that law enforcement receive, learn how to protect yourself during real-life attacks.

Description:
Combining boxing, jujitsu, and law enforcement techniques to create a devastating street survival system useful by anyone regardless of size and strength. Learn how to protect yourself in real-life scenarios. Taught by a law enforcement officer using the same techniques he uses on the job.
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The title of the class should be the first warning sign. Self-defence and Mixed Martial Arts are two very different animals. One is used for surviving violent situations including unarmed assaults, weapon assaults, as well as multiple attacker situations. The other is used for winning tournaments. These are two separate and distinct objectives that require very different training methods. Anyone that claims otherwise truly doesn't understand the difference or just doesn't care.

Although the title claims it's self-defence and mixed martial arts the next sentence mentions "training that law enforcement receive". OK, now I am totally lost. Does the course teach self-defence or mixed martial arts or law enforcement techniques? Again, these are all different objectives and require different training. Law enforcement officers generally use control and containment strategies more so than defensive skills. When forced to protect themselves officers generally team up or escalate the level of force through weapon deployment in order to maintain control over a combative subject. In other words, they rely on weapons to defend themselves when the subject becomes too combative for control and containment techniques. This is obviously different than what is taught in mixed martial arts. It's also different than what is taught to civilians, because civilians have no true need for control and containment strategies. The goal of civilians should be to use the amount of force necessary to escape the situation. They should NOT be taught to stay with an attacker and attempt to control them, which is what is being taught by both law enforcement and mixed martial arts.

Now we move to the actual description which states that the system is a combination of boxing, jujitsu, and law enforcement techniques that make a devastating street survival system. Say what? Anyone that has read my previous posts will know my thoughts on "boxing" for self-defense. Again, I have nothing against boxing or MMA for what they are. They offer many benefits but realistic self-defense isn't one of them. Boxing is a sport that requires years to master. Even then, there are no guarantees that the skills learned in boxing will be applicable to self-defense. Jujitsu, especially old-school stand-up jujitsu is a great art that has many useful techniques and skill-building exercises. However, teaching a student to try to out-grapple an attacker is both futile and dangerous.

Then we learn that the instructor is a law enforcement officer. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing this doesn't guarantee that the material taught will be applicable to civilian self-defense. In fact, unless the officer has specialized training in civilian self-defense it's a safe bet that the material offered will be more geared to law enforcement than civilians. 

All of this being the case, how can such a system prepare the student for "real-life scenarios" when most of the training seems to be based on sport fighting and law enforcement techniques? Statistically, we rarely see the same kind of attacks on the street during real assaults that are frequently seen in the ring. Even attacks on police officers are different than what civilians are forced to face. Again, the difference between sport, law enforcement, and civilians is obvious and the fact remains that each requires different types of training. Don't be fooled by these instructors claiming that they are one in the same. Generally, such claims are based on making money rather than keeping the student safe from crime and violence.

Steve Zorn, ICPS
www.personalsafetyunlimited.net