Luckily, it’s a rare situation here in the UK, but it does illustrate the typical question I sometimes get asked when instructing self-defence: ‘ What if they do this?’ or ‘What if they do that?’ 

There is a vast difference between knowing how to ‘perform’ a skill – any skill – and being able to apply that skill in a particular context. And self-defence is no exception.

Martial arts instructors often struggle to convince adults that they know what they’re talking about without the relevant experience to support their claims. Most martial arts instructors are likely to avoid trouble in the first place successfully and are not well-versed in dealing with actual violence.

So, what’s an instructor to do if they lack real-world experience? Should they rush right out and get into a few fights? Should they hang out on the dodgy side of town and wait to be attacked?

No, but they can search for real experts—people who have “been there” and can help them learn what they need to know to assist the people who come to them for this knowledge.

I had been training for about seven years after my black belt before I realised that my Karate techniques would not work under pressure. I thought my techniques would be enough, but after observing an attack in a pub car park, I realised I was deficient in recognising the patterns of attack and the deceptions and tricks used by attackers. I was completely unaware of the mindset of an attacker and how actual attacks typically begin. I was also ignorant of the effects that my body would have on me due to stress and adrenaline, and even though I was not under attack in this situation, the presence of violence made me freeze momentarily and become confused as to what to do.

A book by Geoff Thompson called ‘Real Self-Defence’ opened my eyes. It’s now out of print, so this later one of his is more comprehensive if you want to get Geoff’s point of view.

From that day forward, I investigated the works of Geoff and others, such as Dave Turton, Kevin O’Hagan, Russell Stutely and Jamie O’Keefe. More recently, I have examined Tim Larkin’s Target Focus Training and Rory Miller’s work.

When instructing, I try to distinguish between ‘Dojo’ techniques and those that others, from reality-based systems, have said and demonstrated can work. I also try to teach principles rather than techniques when teaching self-defence. Having a principle means that a simple principle, once learnt, can work against almost any attack.

I should do more to cover avoiding violence in the first place and the patterns of attack that are likely to be encountered. Most self-defence instruction in martial arts covers the ‘last’ part of the attack – the physical tricks part, ignoring the attack’s setup and escalation phases. I still do not know how I would react in a violent situation, as I always try to avoid places and situations where violence may occur. I also strive to remain aware of my surroundings at all times by performing a running commentary in my head based on my observations (much like the Institute of Advanced Drivers assessment test requires when driving on the road, though that also involves speaking aloud the commentary).

Teaching self-protection skills to others is a huge responsibility, and an instructor should remember that people are placing their lives in their hands whenever they open their mouths or demonstrate a technique.

I’m not sure whether many instructors have considered this.

There is another option available. And that option is simply to…

…stop trying to teach self-defence if you’re not ‘qualified’.

After all, most martial arts instructors teach honesty as one of the significant character traits of a black belt. Wouldn’t this be the “honest” thing to do?

This is precisely the reason why I have rarely shown knife defence techniques during instruction – too much responsibility for showing ineffective techniques because of the extremely high probability of failure in unarmed defence against a bladed weapon. The people who realise this are the people carrying the weapons – they know that it gives them the advantage; otherwise, they wouldn’t have them if it didn’t.

Martial arts instructors must decide for themselves whether or not they include instruction of real-world self-protection against violent attackers who don’t follow the rules of fairness and respect found in martial arts schools and tournaments.

Unfortunately, many martial arts organisations have drilled a sort of ‘cult’ loyalty into their instructors. They frown upon or forbid them from looking outside for guidance, in reality, still believing their system has all the answers.

As a final thought, what if, someday, “I” must depend on one of my students to protect me from a dangerous assailant for whatever reason? Wouldn’t I want to ensure that what they learned would work?