We say on our site that we train "men and women from all walks of life". Who are they? Read on!    >>> read more 

JJDC on 11.27.12 @ 10:07 PM ET    [ 0 comments ]

Block, strike, sweep. Block, strike, sweep. Hours spent in the dojo doing self-defense drills. Over and over and over again. The more I practiced, the better I became. But always, in the back of my mind, was that nagging doubt - "Could I use this on the street"? About seven years ago I got to find out.    >>> read more 

JJDC on 11.18.12 @ 07:27 PM ET    [ 0 comments ]

You can't plan for all contingencies - and neither can we when we train. (See the next to last paragraph.)

We don't try to plan for everything - but what we do try and do is to be aware of what's going on around us, defuse situations before they get out of hand, and deal with the situation if it becomes necessary to do so.

How do we do that?    >>> read more 

JJDC on 11.04.12 @ 03:04 PM ET    [ 0 comments ]

At the end of the "Resistance is futile" post, we noted: "Gun jammed in your ear by a hostage taker? You're still alive." That's arguably one of the worst scenarios imaginable - but to quote Monty Python, "I'm not dead yet!"

Dealing with sudden, extreme stress is very very difficult, and isn't something that most of us are used to doing. If your job or training places you in that sort of scenario, you'll be better equipped to deal with it - but most of us don't, and aren't.

Thinking ahead can help to some extent - what would I do in situation X? - but we'll still have to deal with the physiological reactions we can't control. (A very few, who have experienced such situations many many times, may have a muted reaction - but that's unusual.)    >>> read more 

JJDC on 11.01.12 @ 11:19 PM ET    [ 0 comments ]