Re: What we do up, we do down... – The Self Defense Company

Re: What we do up, we do down…

#12671
James Goolsby
Participant

Archie,

Exactly! That’s what I love about SDTS; it’s just a natural extension of what we instinctually do anyway. Not at all like some of the arts I’ve studied in the past. For example, as beautiful and graceful as Aikido appears in the dojo, I’ve never seen anyone use it in a real life scenario, including my sensei. The one time I saw him in an actual altercation, he reverted back to the ol’ basic lapel grab – throw a right haymaker routine. There is really nothing natural about it — in fact, many of its techniques actually contradict your natural instinct — and when your so-called “primitive” brain kicks in, all that fancy stuff goes right out the window.

I have studied many systems that talk about “maintaining a clear mind” and staying “relaxed until the point of impact.” Now, while these are of course lofty goals to try to achieve, being in law enforcement I have been in my fair share of scraps and I can tell you that I have never once had a clear mind or was relaxed. Never! When it hits the fan and the adrenaline dumps, your “clear” brain shuts down and you go into fight or flight, and you will be tense; it’s just basic physiology. We call it the “osh-its”, as in, “Oh, Shit, what the…?!?!” Thankfully, SDTS (and its derivatives such as Guardian DT) acknowledges this fact and takes advantage of your natural reactions.

I may be a bit biased, but as far as I’m concerned it is the perfect system and I, for one, will never use anything else. It would be like giving up filet mignon for a cheap bologna sandwich. Laugh