I could never do it in a way I felt good about AND keep enough customer to make money.
I wouldnāt pedel bs so Iād feel great. Its more of a side hustle. Someday Iād love to get a ranch and do all sorts of martial arts seminars and maybe fighting if I can get away with it.
I said what I said because it is my belief that āself defense classesā are almost entirely a waste of time if you donāt continually train consistently.
Taking a few classes, weekend seminar, etc. just isnāt going to really prepare someone for a self defense situation even if youāre teaching legitimate skills.
With that in mind I just donāt think thereās a market large enough for such a system to be make enough money for the effort Iād put into it.
I do tech private BJJ lessons and some of my clients like to have them done in a āself defense contextā. I can do this in good conscience because I stress the facts that I just laid out above (ie: this shit wonāt do much good if you donāt keep training it).
I also teach them what I believe is realistic knowledge. For example I donāt teach gun disarms with mindset of āif someone pulls a gun on you you should do this to disarm them.ā Iāll teach them techniques to disarm someone but tell them that trying this puts you at extreme risk of being shot and, depending on the real life situation, youāre probably better off just giving up your wallet.
Most people donāt really want to hear that.
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Iāve read a few of his books. Decent content for what it is. I think the idea of āself defense classesā are a little phony. The answer is to become a stronger, more fit, more competent person who avoids risk to a reasonable degree. Not a couple moves people practice without resistance.
I think of Krav Maga when it comes to disarms.
Dying on your feet and fighting for your life is way better than being executed on your knees with your hands tied behind your back.
Know what beats the hell out of both of them?
Running the fuck away.
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Do you actually want to help ppl, or do you want to make money?
If you actually want to help ppl, you would have to be honest in that learning some martial art, or even mixed martial arts, is not the answer but small slice of the pie. And the realistic take is, no one is going to dedicate a portion of their lives to learning every aspect of ādefenceā - that is, grappling, striking, firearms training etc. Any bit of any of that just takes too much time and resources. Only ppl with a passion in any of it will pursue this - but this is not your target audience.
I think the most important aspects of self defence have nothing to do with any techniques whatsoever. Learning how to grapple someone twice your size takes years of consistent practice. Very few will go down that path. But, you can immediately teach a mind set. Changing their habits in terms of their awareness, reading social cues, avoidance training, learning to not ignore their gut instincts, medical aid, the onion layers of home safety etc. - basically all the unsexy bits. Honestly, say for example a chick - the best thing they can learn when in a situation is to say f*ck social norms and speak/act out. Attack viciously if required.
One of my good friends who is a high authority on this stuff, said something to me Iāll never forget. Ask, for example, a woman this test - if some random homeless guy attacked you, what would you do? Usually they say they would scream, or they would try to ask someone to call police, or they may even say they would do nothing.
Then rephrase the question: if some random homeless guy attacked your young son/daughter/nephew/niece, what would you do? Usually they would say they would try to poke his eyes out, bite him, scratch his face. Mama bear stuff. Training them to react the same in both situations and understand why even there is a disconnect [socialisation] is good self defence training.
- Who do you imagine your target audience will be?
- Learn the specific rules of engagement for your audience.
- How much time will expect to devote to instruction?
I use to train back in the day at the headquarters for Rape Aggression Defense which would do seminars all over.
The most useful part of the course was when an instructor would wear a full suit and maul the women so they could feel scared and react authentically.
Icy Mike has a metric ton of good stuff at his channel.
Similar story here, Iām currently a private consult for the city of Allenā¦ I teach yourself defense class once a week, itās been going on for a few months and have a few regulars.
I emphasize that you have to train to get better and these people are, but a lot of people want instant success so that doesnāt work out
I have deconstructed what Iāve learned in the past 40 years into a very effective system thatās easy to learn but it takes practice like anything else
What makes my class different is that I give homework, muscle memory training which really does help
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This guy likes to hear himself talk
Also to add, a lot of the people in my class are in the karate class and all of them tell me mine is more practical. You learn how to escape grabs and attacks day one and from there we move on to blocking and counter attacks.
One of the students travels a lot to Juarez and he says my stuff that Iāve taught him is the only stuff he thinks would actually help him in a bad situation.
This gives me hope that I can get the curriculum really refined and give it to the world although people wonāt want it because everyone knows betterā¦
Heās on youtube, theyāre all slaves to the algorithm there.
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I think all of us can agree that regardless of our backgrounds, the material we would teach would be wildly different if we were teaching kids, women, military, or prison guards.
Agreed, I teach how to escape for women mostly, men is more defense against punching and tackles.
But I teach stay the hell off the ground because thereās no mobility there and if a big guy gets on top of you, itās over. Manny yarbrough would have broke little Royce in half but most people could outrun him 
I am not biggest fan of the butt flopping.
The first thing Iād do is teach them how to stand and foot work. Hands up open, elbows in and chin down, hips sunk feet at a 45ish degree angle bent lead knee raised rear heel. Throw bags and pads around the floor and make them partner off and see who can get the other to fall over while trying to maintain distance.
Everyone needs to know how to throw down, but you should do everything you can to not have to.
Another big thing is like you said coordination. Definitely have to teach them how to use their other hand. Like have them bounce a tennis ball off a wall and catch it with their weak hand.
What are you gonna teach women except ābuy a gun and train with it. Carry it alwaysā
Edit: This is an honest question, not just woman bashing
With a gun, lots of firearm retention and equipment familiarization. Squeezing off rounds at the range only one part of the equation.
As far as physical training, a lot of it would be putting them physical situations with men, so they learn they canāt square off against most men.
Thatās why they have the attacker suit up, so they have a realistic idea of what will and wonāt work.
But all the basics still apply that would be necessary if you were teaching them to fight competitively.
I want to do both
I want to help people
I want to be compensated fairly for my time
I feel I am an expert in martial arts as I have studied BJJ, wrestling, judo, Muay Thai and boxing for over 20 years.
I donāt want to cover gun stuff, itās not in my wheelhouse
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Controlling space and being more violent faster is what works there.
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Iām not arguing that everything isnāt important. I think it is just a hypothetical for teaching someone who is a blank slate. Not someone who is competent with all the basics and needs to prioritize certain principles over others.
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