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The Perfect Head Positioning for a Headbutt KO

January 20, 2019 By Self Defense Tutorials

The Perfect Head Positioning for a Headbutt KO

The headbutt is an incredibly vicious and effective way to KO someone in a self defense situation even though it's illegal in most martial arts. But if you use it incorrectly you can hurt yourself as badly as your opponent.  So it's worth thinking about how to do it properly! How NOT to Headbutt! The wrong way to land a headbutt is forehead to forehead. This video of … [Read more...]

The Battle to Functionalize Traditional Martial Arts, with Dr Mark Cheng

December 14, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

The Battle to Functionalize Traditional Martial Arts, with Dr Mark Cheng

It was a pleasure to talk with Dr Mark Cheng on my podcast today (The Strenuous Life Podcast). Mark is a lifelong Tai Chi practitioner who was featured in Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Body book and created the Tai Chen warmup and movement awareness training training for the P90X people.  But he's also done a TON of training in reality-based, pressure-tested martial arts, which gives … [Read more...]

Pressure Points for Self Defense

December 1, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

Pressure Points for Self Defense

In more than 35 years of training I've been hurt many times by pressure point attacks. Instructors and training partners have poked, prodded, gouged, and pressed their way into many nerve clusters all over my body. These pressure point attacks hurt like hell when someone shows them to you, but you'd be a fool to rely on them in a real fight. Here's a video in which I … [Read more...]

How to Train Eye Gouges, Throat Grabs and Groin Strikes

October 16, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

How to Train Eye Gouges, Throat Grabs and Groin Strikes

OK, I get it: on the street you don't want to be limited by the rules of a sport. On the street you may need to pull hair, gouge the eyes, kick the groin, grab the throat, and if all that doesn't work then you'll need to start fighting dirty ;) But a martial art is more than just the techniques that you find in that martial art; a martial art also includes methods for … [Read more...]

Air Chokes vs Blood Chokes – What’s Better?

September 23, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

Air Chokes vs Blood Chokes – What’s Better?

Even if you're a world class striker, with knockout power in both hands, I would still argue that it's absolutely critical to also master a few reliable chokes from different positions! A properly applied choke can render even a big guy unconscious in about 10 seconds - it's that powerful. And, contrary to what you might think, a choke is actually much safer than a left … [Read more...]

How to Take a Punch in 3 Steps

May 9, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

How to Take a Punch in 3 Steps

Getting punched in the head is always a bad thing.  But - if you know what to do - then it doesn't necessarily need to be a fight ending, knockout inducing catastrophe. Of course you should try to dodge, deflect, block or evade a punch that's coming your way. But things don't always go according to plan. In a sparring match or a real fight sometimes you're just going to … [Read more...]

Karate Myth: Can You Kill a Man by Driving his Nasal Cartilage into his Brain!

February 22, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

Karate Myth: Can You Kill a Man by Driving his Nasal Cartilage into his Brain!

It's absolutely amazing how persistent the myth of "drive a man's nose cartilage up into his brain to kill him" myth is! Almost EVERYONE has heard this story at some point, even people who don't practise martial arts. Belief in this 'technique' has been fostered by Hollywood, with both Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout and Nicolas Cage in Con Air lethally driving a man's … [Read more...]

The Dreaded Double Ear Slap

February 15, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

The Dreaded Double Ear Slap

The double ear slap has long been a staple of combatives training. The official story, related by many self defense experts, is that if you slap both of your opponent's ears at the same time then, no matter his size, his eardrums will explode and he'll drop to the ground in a shrivelled heap. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Let's take a look at the best data we … [Read more...]

Should You Stretch Before or After Martial Arts Training?

February 8, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

Should You Stretch Before or After Martial Arts Training?

You wouldn't think that something like stretching before a martial arts class could be controversial, but it is (I blame the running community for muddying the waters)! Some evidence and experts suggest that you should only do it after your workout, whereas most traditions say that you should do it before. Who's right and what should you do? Well, in the following … [Read more...]

For A Smooth, Powerful Punch Relax the Shoulders

February 1, 2018 By Self Defense Tutorials

For A Smooth, Powerful Punch Relax the Shoulders

A common problem when people learn boxing is that they think they need to be tense through their whole body. They lumber forward, both fists clenched, every muscle clenched like they're bracing for impact.  Or posing at a bodybuilding show. But look at someone like Anderson Silva, who, in his prime, was considered the best striker who had ever set foot inside the … [Read more...]

Leg Kicks, the Forgotten Tool

November 26, 2017 By Self Defense Tutorials

Leg Kicks, the Forgotten Tool

The leg kick isn't as sexy a technique as a superman punch or a spinning heel kick to the head, but that doesn't mean you can ignore it! It's been proven in countless Muay Thai kickboxing and MMA matches, and definitely has it's applications in the street as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0qkY4oKmRg Low kicks have one HUGE advantage over kicks to the body or … [Read more...]

How to Headbutt Someone

June 24, 2017 By Self Defense Tutorials

How to Headbutt Someone

Want to learn the fine points of headbutting someone into oblivion and how to avoid hurting yourself in the process? How about using your head to amplify takedowns, set up strikes, and dominate the clinching range? It's all covered in this video on the Self Defense Tutorials channel in a video called "How to Use Your Head as a … [Read more...]

The Myth of the Deadly Groin Attack

May 4, 2017 By Eva S

The Myth of the Deadly Groin Attack

There's a persistent myth in self defense training about the groin strike that goes something like this: "Kick the guy in the balls and the fight is over. "It's the one kick wonder. Women especially are often directed to aim for this target as though it's a magic fight ender.  It's not, and you are actually putting yourself at risk if you don't realise … [Read more...]

What Knuckles Should You Punch with Barehanded?

April 28, 2017 By Self Defense Tutorials

What Knuckles Should You Punch with Barehanded?

Want to start an argument between two martial artists?  Ask them which knuckles you should punch with? The fundamental issues here are generating power and mitigating the risk of breaking your hand if you hit a hard bony part of your opponent. I shot a video on this exact topic, so give it a watch and then scroll down where I've included additional … [Read more...]

Two Methods to Make a Really Strong Fist

March 26, 2017 By Self Defense Tutorials

Two Methods to Make a Really Strong Fist

Boxing when your hand is shielded by wraps and gloves is one thing.  All that protection on your hands distributes the force across your entire hand, stabilises your wrist and safeguards the small bones of your hands. But hitting someone in the head with your bare fist in the street is quite another matter... When your unprotected fist meets an unpadded skull there's … [Read more...]

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SELF DEFENSE TUTORIALS

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Recent Articles

BJJ vs Boxing

BJJ vs Boxing

A question came up on a recent Instagram Live Q&A I did about a streetfight video in which a ‘boxer’ beat up a ‘jiu-jitsu guy’. This was a great entry point into a really interesting discussion about the street applicability of BJJ, the importance of cross training in today’s martial arts environment, and specific drills […]

Surviving the Worst Case Scenario – BJJ vs a Gun on the Ground!

Surviving the Worst Case Scenario – BJJ vs a Gun on the Ground!

If you’re on the bottom using your guard in a submission grappling situation then the single worst thing that can happen is that the other guy drops back and locks on a heel hook submission, forcing you to tap out or suffer a potentially serious ankle or knee injury. If you’re using your guard in […]

How to Spar in Kickboxing for the First Time

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I’ve watched a lot of beginners spar for the first time. Usually it takes only about 30 seconds for all thoughts of defense or strategy or finesse vanish and the exercise quickly devolves into two people trading giant haymakers. This is totally understandable – sparring is stressful especially if you’re not used to it. But […]

An Easy, High Amplitude Throw from MMA

An Easy, High Amplitude Throw from MMA

There’s no way to sugar coat it – an opponent who is resisting you full force is HARD to take down to the ground! Most throws involve some combination of off balancing someone, level changing, penetrating under his center of gravity, and then forcing him off his feet before finishing him off by hitting him […]

Recent Articles

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  • Surviving the Worst Case Scenario – BJJ vs a Gun on the Ground!
  • How to Spar in Kickboxing for the First Time
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