Quick Self-Defense Courses. A Waste of Time or Worth a Try?

Posted by: Joel // January 15 2010

You’ve seen the ads before: “Learn to defend yourself in 6 easy weeks!” Or my favorite, “Learn self-defense secrets only known by the military!” Well, I can tell you that this is just a gimmick to get you hooked. It’s not exactly “easy” and there is no “secret” or magical martial arts training that only the military has classified knowledge of.

To put this in perspective, my experience comes from nearly 20 years of martial arts training (some of it coming from ex-military and tactical instructors), being in a few dicey situations, sparring on a regular basis, and being an instructor myself.

I can honestly say that knowing how to stay safe in certain situations not only takes humility, but also the right training from the right instructor.

The 6 or 8-week self-defense course (equaling 1-2 hours of training per week) which many gyms or dojos offer can create a false and dangerous sense of security. While these programs may give you pointers, it’s difficult to develop the coordination, speed, power, timing, accuracy, and the mental and physical conditioning needed for defending yourself. 6-12 hours of training just won’t cut it.

Why do you need more training? Consider this factor – when it comes to self-defense, awareness and knowing how to read your environment, as well as execution, are crucial. Understanding your surroundings and anticipating how and where people may attack you, can be the difference between getting clobbered and avoiding danger completely. And this simply takes more time to fully develop than a mini-course. You wouldn’t be able to hit a homerun during your first time at bat after only a few hours of batting practice either – especially when you're thrown a curveball.

I’m not saying that these classes have no value. For one thing, it’s a lot of fun, and you’ll likely gain more awareness than if you didn’t take a course at all. So try it! You’ll also discover if it’s something you’d like to continue to do, and whether you’d like to continue working with the instructor. Remember, they’re only really useful as an introduction to more training. After all, just because you’ve had 8 weeks of training doesn’t mean it “stays” with you. Regular practice is the only way for your mind and body to retain the training.

When selecting a short self-defense course or workshop to start – it’s what instructors promise you that’s really important. If you go in understanding the context of the training, you’ll be able to set some real expectations. A 4 or 6-month course (or longer) will be useful, but ongoing training is still the only way to go if you truly want to develop self-defense skills. Think of the short course as your preview of and bridge to a regular training program.

Here are some factors to consider when you evaluate classes and instructors:

Ask about the instructor’s background and experience
Ask for references, testimonials, or live demonstrations
Training should be logical and realistic, with simplistic applications
Training should be based on easy-to-learn, practical applications and less about the particular martial art system
Ask if the instructor will give you literature on the course (if not, ask for a demo)
Ask what you’ll be able to do once training is done
Make sure you will receive reference material at the end of the course
Find out how you’ll test out what you learned
Find out if this training can be rolled into an ongoing program
Use your gut instinct (if it feels like a bad fit, it probably is)

Note: While prices may vary, about $150 - $250 is a median range for a multi-week course.

Remember, it’s important to understand the difference between a self-defense course, a workshop, and ongoing training. Short courses can never replace the experience and benefits of ongoing training. Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me directly for more information at joel@slymiser.com. Until then, train hard and stay safe.

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