Addition to the Five Rules of Violence – Marc MacYoung

I’ve long been a fan of simple, but profound concepts. The difference between simple and profound wisdom and a sound bite–the latter is a conclusion. Whereas the former is a fundamental. Now in case you don’t know the difference between a fundamental and a basic, it’s subtle, but important.  For most of the definitions, basics … [Read more…]

Lots of False, Lots of True – Rory Miller

Writing on something. This one is hard. Probably broader and more complex than anything else I’ve tackled. Teaching and learning for emergency skills.  The passage I’m working on now is the experience threshold issue: Because most people have so little experience with violence, they go into violent professions with no idea of what a “normal” … [Read more…]

Ten Reasons Why Self-Defense Works for Some, But Not for Others – Erik Kondo

Lately, the idea of teaching people, particularly women, self-defense as a method for increasing personal safety has come under attack. A primary complaint from certain advocates/bloggers is that self-defense doesn’t work or is ineffective. As proof, many of these advocates will point out real life examples in which they, or someone they know, were assaulted … [Read more…]

Walk with “Deterrence” Not Just “Confidence” – Erik Kondo

“Walk with confidence”. This is a very commonly repeated sound bite of personal safety advice given by self-defense instructors all over the world. The basic concept is that human predators are looking for weak and vulnerable victims. Those that project an attitude of confidence show themselves to not be weak and vulnerable, and thus are … [Read more…]