Capability vs. Capacity

Self-defense training is a multi-faceted training. It can and should involve the physical skill sets and techniques required to survive an encounter but it also must include the proper mental/emotional training to help a student recognize, react and respond.

Too many “self-defense” programs only teach the skills, the capability of defense. That’s the easy part. A real self-defense program will also teach the capacity to use those skills when needed. Are you capable? Yes, you have the skills. Can you do it? Do you have the capacity to harm a fellow human being? This sounds awful, I know. It is. But this is, essentially, the big question, fight, flight or freeze?? When violence is staring you down in the face, and you can’t run, then you MUST fight.

It’s easy to assume that you have the capacity to do it, especially when the “bad guy” looks and acts the part. But what if that part has some complications? What happens to your capacity when it’s:

• your spouse/partner attacking you?

• an elderly person?

• a 10 year old kid?

• a disabled person?

• a pregnant woman?

All of these are specific examples that all need to be worked out in some form ahead of time in alignment with your capable skill sets. This is what we work on in class in addition to the physicality of training.

Self-defense training is very complex. It is not learned at the “Y” for an hour’s class. It will require your full understanding of yourself and your limits. It is truly a lifetime endeavor to master.

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Living Proof…the Secret to Training

Whenever we learn something new there is a bit of frustration. This is only natural. In self-defense training this frustration can be a bit more taxing since what you are learning is crucial for surviving an encounter. But fear not! The secret is right before you - LOL.

Practically every class, I tell my students, “If I can figure this out and do it, anyone can.” And this is so true. When I was learning as a student, I was not the most coordinated, fastest or strongest. It took me a while to learn and to retain new curriculum. It fact, I can still hear my private instructor yelling at me, “Holzer, why can’t you do this??” LOL. Those are fond memories for me now. At the time, it was added anxiety. But the one thing I was good at was the secret.

So what was/is the secret??? Practice… Yes, I know, not exciting. But it is true. And not just practice, but consistent practice. That’s the real secret formula. Do a technique 10,000 times and now you start to own that particular technique. It becomes yours. You don’t have to think about it anymore. It becomes automatic. And when that happens, you start to notice everything else around you. And then you can start to play with things. Change things up, etc. And that is when the real fun begins.

TIP: Practice. Consistently. Duh. LOL. But seriously, you MUST practice. And not just during class time. Take some time out at home or at work, and go over a few things. I found it to be a great stress reliever when I was working in the corporate world. Every time I was in the elevator, alone, I would go over my knife flows. I’m sure there is some great video footage of me that still exists somewhere in the Gateway building downtown. LOL.

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On the edge of training...

In the ‘80s when I was a student and training full time, I was a defensive fighter. I would play off of your offensive mistakes and extended positions to launch my counterattacks. I got pretty good at this but, there was a big hole in my training. I was defensive but I wasn’t necessarily evasive. In other words, I would retreat and counter attack, but I would not evade or shoot to the lateral or 45° angles. My teacher would exploit this and make me pay for my mistakes.

To break me of this habit, he took me to the local rock quarry, specifically to a 20’ x 14’ ledge. As we begin “the lesson” and he pressed me backwards, I retreated to the edge of the cliff. There was nowhere to go but down. Long story short, I had to quickly learn how to evade to the sides and to the forward 45° angles and counterattack. Lesson learned. New skills acquired.

Why do I share this story? In this day and age of DIY, I run across a lot of people who love internet learning - myself included. And there is a ton of content out there. But no matter what the content is, your learning can only go so far without a teacher to guide you and take you to the edge. To push you to your limit. You don’t know what you don’t know until you do. And then… it is too late.

TIP: if you want to learn self-defense, find yourself a teacher/school. You should be able to watch a class or take a free class or two before making a decision to join. Ask the students there why do the come to class? What do they like about the school? How is the teacher? If there is any pushback to any of this, then that probably is not a place you want to join.

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Self-Defense & the Law

The legal aspects of self-defense can get very complex very fast. That being said, I just wanted to quickly summarize the main aspects of how the law (in general - every state has different details) looks at defending one’s self when under attack.

Legal Aspects:

• Imminence: The threat must be immediate and happening now - the threat must be present and not happening in the future. The person using force must reasonably believe they are in imminent danger, based on the specific circumstances. Courts will consider factors like the aggressor's behavior, presence of weapons, and proximity to the defender when evaluating imminence. 

• Proportionality: The force used in self-defense should be proportionate to the threat. The assessment of the threat is crucial. It involves considering the nature of the attack, the attacker's actions, and the surrounding circumstances to determine the appropriate level of force. The disparity of force concept acknowledges that even without a weapon, an attacker may pose a deadly threat due to factors like size, strength, or multiple attackers. 

• Reasonableness: The response must be something a reasonable person would do in the same situation. Reasonableness refers to the level of force used by an individual in response to a perceived threat, and whether that force was justified under the circumstances. The "reasonable person" standard is often used to assess this: would a reasonable person, in the same situation, have acted in the same way? 
  EXAMPLES:
  (1) If someone is verbally threatened by another person, using physical force to defend oneself would likely be considered unreasonable.
  (2) If someone is being attacked with fists, using a baseball bat to defend oneself might be considered reasonable. However, using a gun in that same situation might be considered excessive, unless the attacker is also armed or there is a significant disparity in size and strength.

• Duty to Retreat: Some jurisdictions require you to retreat if it is safe to do so. In jurisdictions with this rule, a person must retreat if they can do so safely before using deadly force. The opposite to this are jurisdictions with Stand Your Ground. These laws eliminate the duty to retreat, allowing individuals to use deadly force in self-defense without needing to retreat, even if they could do so safely.  These laws vary by state. 

TIP: research your local state’s laws about what is considered legal action. Not knowing is not an valid defense in court.

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What's in the mix??

The mix represents the general overall fighting art styles that I chose to incorporate in the self-defense training at the Pittsburgh Combat Club. Styles that give us the necessary skills and tools needed to survive a threatening encounter. Now this is very general as each student based on their abilities, body type, injuries etc. will definitely have different mixes. Best way to think of this is as a toolbox. A plumber’s tools will be different from a carpenter’s. Yes they may both have a screwdriver and a saw but they will use them differently.

Ok, so what general tools are we looking at? Suffice it to say that we explore the following:

• BONE: This is unarmed fighting - utilizing the limbs (fingers, hands, fists, elbows, knees, feet, etc.) for striking from intermediate range to close quarters infighting. This also includes any sort of balance manipulations (throws, displacements, trips, etc.) and body controls (such as locking). Learning how to fall and more importantly how to get back up quickly is in this area too.

• BLADE: Self-defense has to include weapons. Without a doubt you will have a weapon pulled on you. You must be able to understand how to deal with such items. The first of which is a blade - one of the most common weapons available. You must learn the follies of defending against a blade. You must also understand how a blade is best utilized.

• BATON: Probably the oldest know weapon to mankind - the stick. Sticks can be an actual stick or more likely a baseball bat, an umbrella, a broom handle, a pick axe, a police baton, a frying pan, etc. Any bludgeoning device is in this category. Defending against such items is the key. Likewise, how do we best use it for our own self-defense? This is the way. LOL.

Again, this is but a general categorization of what we learn at the Pittsburgh Combat Club. Students each build their own general toolbox that is unique unto themselves and their situation. And some specialize in certain areas of specific interest. So “the mix” is a general recipe that is spiced up with your own special ingredients.

TIP: Another mix is your outlook. You want to have the ferocity of a a wild animal when fighting back but it needs to be mixed with the strategy and tactics of a chess master. Remember your greatest weapons are your heart and your mind.

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The KEY ...

What is the key to self-defense training? Well, actually, it is no secret. The key to ANY form of training is repetition. The base formula is that the more times you practice a skill, the better you become.

One caveat though…half-assed practice will yield half-assed results and ingrain bad habits. So we need to add to the base formula. We can now modify it by saying that the more times you perfectly practice a skill, the better you become. Perfect practice or practice under the direction of a teacher that can keep on the perfect-practice-road is essential.

The common standard is 10,000 correct repetitions will lead to mastery. And along that 10k journey, you will develop a litany of other bonuses such as increasing your focus, patience, timing, etc. The journey is just as important as attaining the mastery of the skill.

TIP: begin today!! It may be self-defense. It may be learning a new language or musical instrument. It could be exercising or dieting. Whatever it is. Start NOW. Starting is the hardest part. The 10k step journey - once begun - is so much easier to continue with momentum. Enjoy the trip!

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The Perfect Weapon...

Ahhh… the Perfect Weapon! If you are like me, the 1991 martial arts, action film starring Jeff Speakman should come to mind. “No gun. No knife. No equal.” was the film’s tagline implying that he WAS the perfect weapon. LOL.

For self-defense though, is there a “perfect weapon?” In short no. True self-defense is a chaotic, messy confrontation. It’s full throttle and in-your-face. Whatever you can grab and use as a weapon can be the perfect weapon. The idea here is that I need to be able to turn anything I grab into a weapon and then use it to its best extent possible. That could be a knife, handgun, pepper spray, taser, frying pan, umbrella, cell phone, brick etc.

So whatever I have, I need to immediately know how to use it to my best possible advantage. But how do get good at doing this? Well, practice. You have to practice with mainstream weapons (handgun, kubotan, mace, knife, stick, etc.). Practice with more exotic weapons (sword, machete, axe, staff, etc.). And finally practice with non-weapons or improvised weapons (frying pan, water bottle, cell phone, sharpie., etc.) Eventually you start understanding the mechanics and attributes of things that can be used to protect yourself - no matter what that thing is.

So what is the perfect weapon? Well, if you trained correctly, physically/mentally/emotionally…it actually is YOU! Jeff Speakman was right all along…

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RECALCULATING...

Gotta love a GPS navigation system. Where would we be without them? I mean there is no way I am ever going back to handwritten directions or a trip-tik from AAA. LOL. But have you ever veerd from your car’s GPS directions? The system starts “RECALCULATING…” to find you a new route or to modify your existing route. Usually when this happens there is a small delay. And that delay is the key to speed in self-defense.

This delay or recalculation time is what I call a brain interrupt. If I can interrupt the thinking/actions of my attacker for a moment and then move or counter attack in that time gap, I effectively move faster because he is not tracking me but is trying to recalculate what happened. I want him in a constant state of recalculation. This is how I get the upperhand to defend myself better - I get him reacting to me.

TIP: common brain interrupts cover a wide variety of techniques. Some of which can include the following:

• a loud scream/shout/noise

• a stinging slap to the belly/chest/face/arm

• a chin push, face wash, hair pull, etc.

• a body shove

• a ball tap

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Self-Defense Legos

Legos. Those wonderful, creative blocks that allow you to build...anything and everything. I loved legos as a kid and loved them even more when teaching my son about them. But the true beauty of legos is the potential to unlock your creativity. You see you can buy a set that builds a police car. But do you always want to build the police car?  My guess is no. In fact, I am sure you want to take pieces from that set and the robot set and mix and match and make something entirely your own.

Am i right? I'm right. Right? Of course I am right. That IS the beauty of legos - the creative potential.

Guess what, self-defense is no different.

You see as a new student you will learn basic "sets" (kihons) of responses to various self-defense situations and attacks. But all of these sets - just like legos - can be intermixed to make a response that is truly your own. Do you have to follow the prescribed set? No, not really - just as long as the mix that you create makes sense from a tactical point of view. In fact these mixed sets are only limited to your imagination and each mixed set gives us more potential for more sets. Ad infinitum...

So if you have played with legos and liked them, I am sure we can get you building again but with our self-defense legos. Happy creating!

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TRADITIONAL? or MODERN?

It’s no secret that I love the martial arts. Always have. The history, the discipline, the lineage, the respect… All of it. BUT… we have to make a distinction when it comes to why you are training.

Are you training to learn the art? To continue the legacy of your instructor. Are you training to protect yourself. To develop and hone your skills as fast as possible to survive a deadly encounter? Now there can be a middle ground where both are true - an intersection of the traditional and the modern.

When I made the decision to be only about self-defense, many aspects of traditional training had to go. A new hybrid way had to be developed:

• No uniforms. No belts. No ranks. Just learning.

• No kids under 18. Adult self-defense is a navigation of legalities. Knowing and understanding what to do when is extremely important.

• Training time had to be maximized- adult students don’t have years to devote to learning everything about an art.

• Accommodating & understanding issues (physical, mental etc.) is crucial. Everyone has baggage but even so, you still need to operate with that baggage, an attacker doesn’t care.

• Adult students have to be able to train and still go to work the next day.

These are just some of the highlights of the Pittsburgh Combat Club’s training. We offer a modern, hybrid way of self-defense skill development that is catered to the adult learner. Our goal is to provide the very best instruction in the safest possible manner.

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