How to Kick Ass with Only One Leg.

Meet Rich Turner who at the age of 18 months lost his leg in a riding lawnmower accident. Since then Rich was bullied and he had NO CHOICE but to learn how to fight. 

Rich recalls having to fight as early as kindergarten, “My only other choice was to be a walking punching bag and that wouldn’t work for me. When I got older, I started looking into self-defense because I wanted to know how to protect myself in any situation. You can’t learn that just by street fighting.”

Rich doing what he does best…defying the odds.

Rich has studied multiple martial arts and self defense systems over the course of his life and was extremely disappointed every time until he found a home with The Self Defense Training System™.

“I chose the SDTS because after extensive research on many other types of self defense…. To be brutally honest…they were a joke!! 

I took a chance on SDTS and bought the Elite Membership and have never looked back.

I practice regularly on my own. I even have had Federal Air Marshals, and Former Marines ask me where I learned some of the SDTS moves because they tell me that it’s some of  the same stuff they were taught.”

Rich says the easiest part about SDTS is that you don’t have to spend hours or weeks or months or even years learning multiple things that will not work in real world situations.

“You do it, you practice it, you know it….but easy is a far cry from what it takes to REALLY condition yourself. It takes hard work and determination. But IT IS WORTH EVERY SECOND!”

Rich found that the hardest part about adapting his disability to self defense is the same difficulty he’s had all of his life….

“I cannot stand on my left leg with my knee bent. It will just fold up on me. I cannot do a double pump kick while on the ground. So instead, I’m  going to try to kick a guy’s leg off from his body with one kick from one very strong leg.”

There are so many simple, everyday tasks that that Rich finds difficult, however Self defense is not one of them…and neither is climbing! “I can put on a set of tree spikes and climb a tree.”

Which brings us to Rich’s other passion…Rock Climbing.

“I can climb cliffs and I can run, and make no mistake –   if I kick someone with a leg made of carbon fiber I am going to break whatever I kick…and I’m not going to feel a thing.”

Rich has discovered how to use his leg as a tool.

“Sometimes it’s a pry bar, sometimes it’s a vice and many times it’s a hammer.”

Rich’s words of wisdom, “Don’t get discouraged when you find things you can’t do. Work with what you got and you will FIND A WAY!” 

 …And that’s what Self Defense at the SDC is about…ADAPTING YOUR CURRENT SKILL SET to meet your constant self defense need. 

“I have fought hard to get to where I am in life and I enjoy passing what I know on to others whether they are disabled or not. I love the SDTS and I just purchased Operation Phoenix as well. I can’t wait to come train with Damian and the SDC Team you one day.”

Hey Rich – it will be our honor to train with you. Thank you for finding us and thank you for always finding a way!

You embody the Spirit of the SDTS.