Paladin Productions has been releasing a series of short video clips with a contingent of its author stable providing a mini-technique or tactical digression in microcosm on the subject of self-defense, not sport application. (I'm in the group, whether deserving of the honor or not, I appreciate the company I am keeping). As each of these clips has been released a few of the other authors and I have discussed, privately, some of the feedback; invariably the discussion regards the negative feedback as humans, no matter how stacked the good word is, seem to gravitate towards "Yeah, but what about that one guy? Why doesn't he get it?" I understand my fellow authors' sentiment regarding the "couch warriors" (their phrase not mine), but allow me now to defend these dissenters.

          I am a skeptic, of many things, but I am skeptical to the nth degree when it comes to much of what passes for real-world self-protection advice. As a matter of fact, a good third of our book on the subject, No Second Chance, is spent decrying what is wrong with much of what is proffered to good folks looking to others "in the know" to assist them in surviving what could be the worst instance in their lives. It would be less than charitable or intellectually honest to deny another's skepticism in favor of mine.

          In short, I agree, we should all be skeptical of any and all hard-fast, concrete, specific "this is your go-to move no matter what" advice in the area of self-protection. Real-world encounters are just too fraught with chaos to apply any predictive strategy or tactic that does better than house odds in the best of circumstances. Most self-defense advice is artificial and potentially valueless because it too closely mimics sport applications even if the tactic in question justly comes directly from sport. Sense a contradiction there? Stay with me.

          Let's say you've got a killer jab or a major badass thigh kick that serves you well in sport sparring so, you reason you can use the same in the street with a little adjustment-say, let's aim that jab for the throat, or let's adjust that speedy kick to take out the groin. This is a very good strategy, by the way-taking what works well for you in one domain (sport) and applying it to another (street). But, even though we are taking a sporting tool and attempting to apply it elsewhere we must never lose sight of the fact that the use profile has and will change dramatically.

When you use the jab or the kick in the gym you are working with so many controlled variables. Among those controlled variables:

• You control when you will go to the gym.
• You control how long you will be at the gym.
• You control the clothing/gear you will wear at the gym.
• You are in a controlled environment at the gym (matted or level surfaces, good lighting, and some degree of temperature control among many other things).
• Even if your sparring session is hardcore full-contact the rule set, by dint of the sport itself makes this a somewhat predictable exercise even with another athlete in front of you trying to assert their will upon you.

On the reality side of things...

• You never get to choose the "when" of your attack. Have you tested that jab or kick fresh out of bed at 3AM? Right after you've downed way too much pizza and beer while on an evening out with your family? Fresh out of the shower? Standing at the urinal or in the bathroom stall caught a bit unawares?
• Have you worked your jab and kick in all matter of clothing you might wear in a given week? Or season for that matter?
• Have you worked your defensive tools in a variety of environments? Uneven terrain? Cramped quarters? Slick conditions? Low lighting? No-lighting? With something precious to protect, say, your two-year-old child in your arms? Et cetera?
• Have you allowed for your own changing attributes profile? That is, will you be able to execute your go-to's with any number of injuries? Illnesses? Age-restrictions? (We all get old, folks and if we play this game there's always-always-an injury to work around).

We will stop this brief assessment of the controlled and uncontrollable variables between the two domains right there, although you can go on and on with these all day long.

We should be skeptical of stock answers offered in pristine environments. It is for this very reason that I do not consider any street defense advice viable (my own included) until it has been through a culling process. We use a series of 60+ drills called The Outer Limits (the good folks at Paladin are kind enough to release these drills in an already shot DVD-set sometime in the near future). I'm a huge advocate of taking any and all self-defense tactics and strategies (whether mine, others, or something of your own devising) and running them through the chaos gauntlet so we can see what does and does not manifest for each individual. To be frank, as long as this has been our method, we've seen no single "this is the one" move; each stressed individual finds their own defensive responses pretty rapidly as the drills will not permit hesitation or, practice for that matter--just reaction. And let's not fool ourselves, the nature of these culling drills is tough with a capital T, but even these are artificial constructs with controlled variables.

With all this said, what you say you are going to do when it really hits the fan can all be parked under a big label called theory. Theory is a good thing, we need to concoct theories so we can cobble together an initial game plan, but then theory is never of any use if it does not proceed to the scrimmage stage, and the scrimmage stage should replicate as many of the stressors and variables as possible to see if the theory survives its contact with reality (and a controlled reality at that).

So, my brethren, we should all be skeptical of all self-defense advice from anyone no matter whom they are. And that skepticism should extend to the standard skeptic follow-up of "Well, here's what I would do." When I hear that phrase it usually smells to high-heaven of theory, but that's just the skeptic in me talking.

I close with a thought I know we all can agree on, a sincerest wish to anyone and everyone who mulls self-defense advice: May you, me, and everyone we hold dear never need one bit of the self-defense advice we all ponder. May it all be one massive waste of time. A safe and happy existence to all!