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Ian1405
Ian1405's picture
Beginner physical self defence training

I am a beginner and been training in wado ryu karate since August this year.  I am in my early thirties and took it on so I could handle myself and intrested in the martial arts.

I train once a week in the typical dojo which teaches solo kata, fitness and some basic partner techniques.  I also train once a week on my heavy bag at home on basic punch and kick techniques.  I also have done some contact points based sparring.

In addition I do some research listening to Iain's  podcasts and reading books on self defence by Geoff Thompson and peter considine.  So aware that self defence is first about avoidance first and physical is last resort.

However keen to get some advice from experienced martial artists on what would be the best approach to learning physical self defence skills for someone who has a couple of hours a week train? Conscious I want to invest my time in activities which will help me protect myself when put under pressure rather than activities which are not practical.

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Hi Ian,

I'd focus on dialogue, de-escalation and pre-emption. Those are vital parts of self-protection that most martial artists leave totaly untouched. Getting a partner to train that stuff with will be a better use of limited training time than practising "combat" techniques.

I hope that helps.

All the best,

Iain

Ian1405
Ian1405's picture

Thanks Iain appreciate the reply.  Can you recommend any further good resources (e.g books, courses,  lessons etc...) I could use to aid my learning in these areas on top of the books I mentioned,  partner training and your guidance in the podcasts? 

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Ian1405 wrote:
Can you recommend any further good resources (e.g books, courses,  lessons etc...) I could use to aid my learning in these areas on top of the books I mentioned,  partner training and your guidance in the podcasts? 

This podcast has some suggestions: 

http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/content/bonus-podcast-10-books-pragmatic-karateka

Scaling Force by Rory Miller & Lawrence Kane is also one I'd highly recommend. Everything by Marc MacYoung is also worth a read. Checkout his brilliant website: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/

You're already familiar with Peter & Geoff's stuff and I'd encourage you to expand your libary there too.

I hope that helps.

All the best,

Iain 

Ian1405
Ian1405's picture

Brilliant thanks