Martial Artists are unaware of ‘bad guy’ attack patterns and rituals.

The attacker’s personality will be unlike anything you have experienced in training. They will not be a partner trying to help you get better or not trying to injure you.

Your attacker may be a kid on his first crime, losing control and not knowing how to regain control without resorting to extreme violence. It may be a hardened criminal who will use extreme violence without any thought of you, or it may be someone who enjoys the feeling of domination.

You are unlikely to have encountered any of these personalities in regular training. Instructors would not let any of these people anywhere near their classes.

Bad guys will almost always be bigger and stronger than you. They wouldn’t have picked you as a victim if they did not think they could win if it came down to a fight.

Therefore, all physical self-defence techniques must work against a bigger, stronger opponent. Most martial artists practice against opponents of the same size. 

Most scenarios of random violence follow the same pattern – picking, testing, challenging, intimidation, and assault. Spotting these stages will allow you to evade the problem sooner.

All these self-defence ‘problems’ will be covered in later posts with possible solutions.