I mean, who wouldn’t be prepared to spend quite a few bucks for a handful of secret techniques that will protect you from potential danger: I would… it would be great not to be quite so scared when I have to walk the streets alone and also: I really hate myself when I get intimidated by people who are more aggressive than I am, especially at work, or at school or even when I am just socialising with friends – I wish I was as confident as people around me: then I would be more popular, I would have a better life and I bet my career would take off in a completely different way! I bet I would even have the strength to lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking and look good!

A lot of people have to live with fear from the time that they wake up until the time that they fall asleep. They loathe confrontation of any sort  - it is better to back down; it is better to shut up, not to express my opinion, or tell that joke; just do as I’m told, be a shadow – because you never quite know do you? You never know how people will react – there are a lot of weirdoes out there.

Most people will recognise themselves to some extent, and to varying degrees. They are/you are/we are all victims of bullying: physical, psychological and emotional bullying – from all quarters. The more bullying we undergo, the more our demeanour seems to change; we get a “V” for victim stamped on our foreheads that seems to act as a catalyst or a magnet for more of the same.

In fact, most bullies are actually just as scared. But they have learned to disguise their own inadequacies from both themselves and the people that surround them through aggression and the fear that they generate. He/she has learned who his/her victims can be at a glance – they have to bully to prove to themselves that they are not like their victims: for that is their greatest fear and deep down: they know that they already are.

But what is this I see on television? For four easy payments of $99.99 – I can get these videos, attend these short courses near me, subscribe to the “Secret Deadly Techniques” magazine or buy this book called “Never Be Scared Again – Change Your Life!” If I order now, I will get a free black belt key ring: this is what I have been looking for all my life!

These people all seem to be the first and only people that have exclusive access to the teachings and wisdom of Grand Master Won Ton Ping, the world’s only 24^th Dan Black Belt in Origami. Legend has it that he meditated without food, water or female company for 37-years and that he could kill people just by sneezing at them.

But back to reality: you can’t learn anything from books, you can’t learn anything from magazines and you can’t learn anything from videos other than a realisation that: “Hey, there is knowledge and skills out there that I could learn.”

And, yes: there is actually a whole universe of knowledge and skills out there about any subject you like and like any knowledge and skill sets, there are a few useful points to consider:

• There is no quick fix – otherwise everyone would have done it.
• There are no secret techniques.
• There are no supernatural components.
• And, how do you tell the genuine from the fake?

Let us address the quick fix first. There is none when it comes to self defence other that wrapping your self in Kevlar, buying a rather large gun and surrounding your self with people who are prepared to take a bullet for you. This solution may be beyond your budget and if it isn’t, it could well cramp your social life.

Self defence is like any skill set: it has to be built on very sturdy foundations. It needs to be learned slowly: taking the time that it needs to take and it needs to be practised regularly, relentlessly, continuously and diligently. The moment you stop practising – the sills will start to deteriorate and you will get rusty.

So now we have established the fact that any journey in the pursuit of gaining knowledge and skills in self defence is going to require an investment of some considerable time: most people already know this.

And knowing this, you then have to ask yourself – is self defence important enough for me to warrant an investment of this magnitude? For most people, the answer is no – they would rather be doing something else – and that is fine!

Most self defence courses market themselves to the people who want a quick fix and who are not prepared to invest their time to learn a martial art. The advertisers will tell you that you don’t need to invest a lot of time because they have access to secret knowledge that is so superior that anyone with this knowledge will not need put in the hours to learn it and they will not need to practise. Some advertisers will even spice things up with a little supernatural flavouring – a recipe that will always attract some punters!

Are all self-defence courses a waste of time then, I hear you ask? Well, no: not if you are aware of what you have paid for. Some courses are very worth while as they teach preventative behaviour such as how to take out money from an ATM, how to use a public telephone booth, how to dress less provocatively or how to scream and shout at someone molesting you at an office party.

Preventative behaviour based courses build on the premise that the best form of self defence is not to be there in the first place: to minimise the risk of every day activities. They are absolutely right and this is very worth while knowledge – but it still needs to be practised!

Some self defence courses teach techniques in the use of everyday items such as pens, combs and keys as weapons. They build on the premise that any weapon can be used against the person defending themselves: so it would be quite useful to learn how to use items that are not normally considered as weapons to maximise effectiveness and surprise and to minimise the risk of that weapon being used against the defender. This premise is also absolutely right and these are skills that are also well worth knowing – but they still need to be practised!

The rest of the bunch of self defence courses may not be a waste of time either. You get to meet people, have a bit of fun, learn some basic falls, some basic holds, some basic throws, some basic kicks, strikes, blocks and some basic strategy. These courses can be a lot of fun and very useful if they are marketed as being basic introductions to martial skills.

But very often they are not. They are marketed as being the ultimate solution because ultimate solutions attract more people and more money than introductions to basic skills.

The major problem is that these courses often do not expose the students to aggression, fear or pain and the student is not made aware of the fact that even if they practise these basic techniques religiously – they may well fall apart when confronted very aggressively.

There is a huge danger that a student may walk away with a false confidence that will cause that student to lower their natural guard and thus expose that student to greater risk than before they attended their course – a scenario that, potentially, could have very unfortunate consequences. This is my argument as to why self defence courses are not always better than no self defence courses.

I have often been asked to run such courses, but my answer has always been no. I already teach self defence – come along to our Karate club and have a look, or try it out if you like. They never come!