Martial Artists don’t anticipate that actual attacks hurt, damage and overwhelm.

In reality, the action will be close, fast, and your mobility will be hampered. Given that even untrained people can hit multiple times a second, an unarmed attacker will hit you three or four times before your brain switches from whatever you were thinking about to fighting mode. If the attacker is armed, the speed of the assault remains the same, but the potential damage increases. The initial rapid attacks overwhelm your capacity to respond effectively.

This is why it is essential to identify the build-up and prevent an overwhelming attack.

Martial Artists fall back on inappropriate training habits.

Many martial artists fail in a real confrontation because they are too focused on executing the ideal move (scoring target) they think will conclude the fight.

Martial artists have been known to have an advantage in a situation but have subsequently not prevailed because they have released the attacker when the attacker ‘taps out’ because this is what they do in training. In other situations, they have handed back weapons after disarmament because that is what they do in their training drills, and it has become a habit.

Perhaps the greatest threat to your abilities is the effect of the adrenal dump, known as the Adrenal Stress Response (ASR). When not recognised or understood, ASR effects can affect the perception of the threat and cause us to react in a harmful/inappropriate way, such as reverting to training habits.

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