This course will teach you to work verbal, physical and gun handling skill sets at close contact distances. Scenario based training is used heavily throughout this program, and the entire course is hands on. Students will learn how to consistently engage live fire targets at arms’ length, and also use UTM and demo guns to engage in force-on-force training with role players at close contact distances, out of vehicles and inside structures.
I, along with a lot of other people, was once obsessed with fist loads. But I matured and now look at them from a historical or intellectual perspective.
What exactly is a fist load you may ask. Any hard object that we can hold in our hand that allows us to still make a fist with the object inside, and gives us the illusion that we can hit harder. And after 46 years of playing with them, I do believe it is an illusion. A proper fist – first two knuckles aligned with the forearm and back of hand even with the back of the forearm – gives you just as solid a hitting surface, is more resilient, and protects your hand and wrist far better than a fist load.
The problem with any hard object in our hand is the same as when we wrap our hands as a boxer does – it gives a false sense of what is happening. It is easy to have a bad wrist angle, or the knuckles not lined up, and some of the pressure is absorbed by the object. And we may get away with it much of the time, but when it goes wrong, it may be catastrophic. After one strike to our attacker is not the time I want my hand to give out.
I believe in software (skill and training) over hardware (the fist load). With a bit of practice under the instruction of a good coach, we develop the ability to always hit hard and with less chance of injury that we always have with us rather than rely on a tool that may not even be legal in the area where we may find ourselves.
The one place that I think some version of a fist load may be useful is when it projects out either end of our hand and allows us to use hammer fist strikes. I particularly like a handheld light for this purpose. The bonus is such an object is almost always legal anywhere reasonable.
Another negative aspect of a fist load is how it looks from a legal viewpoint. Even if it is legal, what is a prosecutor going to say to the jury as you stand trial in a criminal or civil action? “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this person walked around in society with the intent of pummeling another human being so badly that he carried around an object that has no other purpose but to severely injure another person!”
And for those who think they can disguise theirs and pretend it is something else (like a massage tool! Ridiculous!), don’t count on it. LE agencies and investigators are pretty tuned into to these things.
I get it. I too once loved the idea of them, but over the years I have realized that the niche for them is so minuscule that the juice is not worth the squeeze. But as always, I am not the Tactical Gestapo. It is not my place to make your decisions for you. Choose as you like, but make sure you are armed with real knowledge, not a superficial version of “knowing”.
Brazilian JIu Jitsu BJJ private class professor of the martial arts academy working on the technique details with his students black and brown belts training open guard in kimono gi
You know what the most egregious error that people make when they advocate for others to train Jiu-Jitsu? They forget that first and foremost it should be fun.
Whether someone is talking about doing jiujitsu because it can be crucial for self-preservation (which it is), or that it is all about competing and testing yourself against others in tournaments (which is really cool, and I have been doing that for multiple decades), there tends to be often a condescending attitude that if you are not willing to do either of the above (or both), then you are not serious about self-defense or about being more than a couch potato.
It is similar to far too many online commentators and self-proclaimed experts in the gun community who take anyone to task who is not at the range numerous times each month, is not not competing in IDPA, USPSA, or Steel Challenge matches, is not dry firing every day, and is not taking weekend courses from famous instructors throughout the year. Or god forbid, you don’t put a red dot optic on your pistol. Don’t even get one of these experts fired up about that!
We can debate what is needed to be truly prepared to defend your life against violence. There is much room for adjustment, nuance, and continued improvement to maximize those goals, and there undoubtably are folks out there who can pursue that even if they don’t enjoy it. But for the vast majority of people – all of whom have the right to defend themselves as they see fit – it becomes extremely difficult to do any of the above if they are miserable about doing it.
For years, before I snapped my hamstring, my main cardio training was running. I was able to force myself to do it, but I hated it. It was boring (to me), and took much discipline to keep to my multiple sessions a week. I did it because a) I needed to continually improve my cardio to combat my severe asthma, and b) I needed the cardio to be able to function at a high level in jiu-jitsu and jiu-jitsu competitions. So I generally was able to push myself. However, if life got in the way of training, running was one of the first things that would suffer. My combatives practice would not, neither would my shooting and dry firing, and my weight training usually was a constant. So if something had to go, running was the choice. To be fair, I usually got good cardio no matter what with 4-6 BJJ sessions a week, so missing some running was not a great loss.
I believe in the benefits of Jiu-Jitsu. I don’t think any other physical pursuit gives you the bang for the buck that BJJ does, so I want to make sure the emphasis I bring to any talk about it, and or any time I post something to encourage someone to train Jiu-Jitsu, is that above all else, it is incredibly fun. Certainly it can be challenging, but that to is part of the fun. Knowing that you have legitimately overcome some challenge gives you a feeling of self-satisfaction and pride that is crystal clear.
If you have never practiced Jiu-Jitsu because you hav been intimidated, just find the right academy and the right instructor, and know you don’t have to be an elite level athlete, or some super tough guy to get all the benefits. You will have fun, make yourself more capable, and maybe even make some good friendships that stand the test of time.
If anyone is unsure of how to find a good academy, don’t hesitate to reach out and I will try my best to help. I have been doing that for 20 years and have a pretty good track record by now.
Step on the mat, and go with the idea that the ride will be fun!
