Why the typical women's self-defense programs fail
The Kardashian Sisters training in self-defense on the show "Keeping up with the Kardashians"
By Joe Walker - Chief Instructor
When my wife, Angel, and I first came up with the idea of RADE TACTICS (in particular, women's self-defense), the first thing I told her was, "This isn't going to be some cheesey 2-hour seminar crap!" There is alot to be said about those words and the reality and reputation of women's self-defense in today's world. Far too many times I've seen advertisement for programs that offer only a mere course or two or three or whatever and amount to only a few HOURS of training. These programs claim or infer that a woman, or anyone for that matter, can be taught to defend themselves 'properly' with what amounts to a minimum time of study and training in what, for example, has taken me and many other people years to achieve, God willing.
A good example of this would be an episode of the show "Keeping up with the Kardashians" (click on the link to see the video clip) in which a group of sisters attend a single training session of women's self-defense. Two instructors give essentially one-on-one instruction for what appears to be the typical hour or two hour women's self-defense seminar. Most of the tactics (but not all) appear to be decent general self-defense tactics (I personally didn't like their version of the rear bear hug escape though). When the girls return home, their step-father, 60-plus-year-old former olympic gold-medalist decathlete Bruce Jenner, asks to see what they've learned and bear hugs the girls and playfully slams them to the cushioned-furniture, etc., all the while the girls are feeling ill-prepared, discouraged and, well...ripped off and their time wasted!
Being from a martial arts training background that spans three decades, I don't discern much when it comes to self-defense preparation, whether it be traditional martial arts training or women's self-defense. A boxer trains for months before a fight. A collegiate wrestler trains for months before a meet. Football and baseball players train for an entire season before their first game of the year. Training for success, in any endeavor, takes time and lots of it! This is at the very core of RADE TACTICS Martial Arts & Women's Self-Defense and what separates us from the other cheesy women's self-defense programs that are out there. Months, if not years, makes all the difference in preparing oneself for a life-or-death situation. Mere hours just don't cut it!
General Choi Hong Hi --- Founder of Korean Tae Kwon Do. General Choi didn't just study and train for a few hours or even a few weeks. He did so for decades!
Angel and I have spent countless time and effort in designing, selecting, and tweeking tactics and techniques that work for a wide range of people of all shapes, sizes, abilities, etc. However, what works for me may not work for Angel or someone else. And this is something Angel and I ran into when developing our women's program.
For example, I am 6'3" and my wife is 5'2". If someone puts me into a side headlock it's pretty easy for me to throw my inside arm up and over the bad guy's shoulder and reef back on the infra-orbital pressure point (below the nose) to peel their head backward, hook the rear of their knee with my opposite arm and slam them to the ground, escaping the hold with little effort and by way of leverage or mechanical advantage. This is very easy for me to do because I have extremely LONG arms. My wife on the other hand, all 5'2" of her, cannot always effectively execute the same tactic due to her much shorter arms, especially if my 6'3" self is role-playing the bad guy. So we've had to tailor the tactic and change it up a bit to suit her. Since she can't reach my nose, but can reach my chin and mouth, I've trained her to "fish-hook" or hook the corner of my mouth with her fingers and rip backward (a very painful technique).
A good self-defense instructor will work with the individual student to find a solution if a tactic doesn't seem to work for them, given the student is doing the technique properly. It may take a bit to work out the kinks, but with time, effort and a little analysis, a good instructor can and will find a solution.
When it comes to self-defense, training yourself to properly react can take weeks, months or even years, just as with any physical activity or sport. Training for just a few hours or days is, in my opinion, training to fail! And if you have an instructor who only shows you one way to do a technique or gives you only one option, don't waste your time. Any instructor worth their weight in certification, wherever it may come from, will try to work with you and tailor the program around you, not tailor you around the program.
As always, train hard and stay safe!
Joe Walker
Chief Instructor
RADE TACTICS Martial Arts & Women's Self-Defense
