Must-Haves in a Real Self-Defense School

Two young males about to fight while friends watch, illustrating why self-defense is more than fighting.

How To Choose A Real

Self Defense Program

Looking for real self-defense training? It’s tough to know what’s legit and what’s just movie-fueled fantasy. If your only reference is what you've seen on Netflix or heard over drinks, you're not alone.

This section is going to prepare you to find quality instruction no matter where you live. Read on, and you will learn the five criteria for self-defense so you never have to worry about wasting your time or money on training.

Learn more about our teaching philosophy here.

Instructor's Qualifications

What Really Matters

The first of the five criteria for self-defense is “instructor qualifications.” There’s no licensing board for self-defense. Anyone with a belt and a YouTube channel can call themselves an expert. That should terrify you.

Do your homework. Self-defense is a serious business. You wouldn’t go for surgery without researching your doctor. In self-defense, your life is also on the line. Ideally, you want someone who’s actually dealt with non-consensual violence.

Nick Hughes of Krav Maga LKN on duty as a bodyguard, awaiting a client arriving by private jet.

Nick Hughes, for example, began working on nightclub doors when he was only 16 years old. He and the other bouncers averaged five fights a night, six nights a week for six years. You do the math.

He’s lived and worked in over 20 countries as a member of the French Foreign Legion and as a bodyguard. Black Belt magazine listed him as one of the top ten most dangerous martial artists in the world and he’s the author of the #1 best-selling self-defense book entitled “How To Be Your Own Bodyguard.”

He’s boxed professionally, written for various publications, trained the military and law enforcement, and was a featured instructor for Paladin Press.

Krav Maga LKN instructor applying headlock to student, illustrating common real-world attack.

Start With

High Probability Attacks

The second of the five criteria for self-defense is “what order are they going to start teaching you?” At Warriors Krav Maga, we have a unique method of teaching the highest probability techniques first so you become more effective faster.

One major player in the Krav Maga world starts you out learning how to get out of a two-handed choke. In over 2,000 fights around the world, Nick has never seen anyone attacked that way.

The fastest way to make someone dangerous is to teach them how to hit. It’s common sense. If you’re being attacked by someone larger, are you going to shut them down faster by sticking your finger in their eye or trying to throw them or put them in an arm lock? That’s why we begin with striking techniques and progress logically.

Soft Skills
Martial Arts Missing Link

The third element of self-defense is called “soft skills.” Learning how to fight and learning self-defense is vastly different. Too many naive, testosterone-fueled twenty-year-olds think they’re the same thing. They’re not.
Most people think self-defense means fighting. Wrong. 75% of real self-defense is about avoiding the fight altogether—and most schools don’t teach that.

Crime starts with the selection of a victim. Can you learn how they choose their victims and, therefore, how not to be selected in the first place? Yes, you can, and that’s what we call a soft skill.

Shark sneaking up on swimmer used to show why situational awareness is critical in self-defense.

How about situational awareness and pre-fight attack cues? Spies and special forces learn this before they venture into the world’s hostile places.

Most fights begin with a verbal component. If you can say something to make a situation worse, then you can say something to make it better.

These are the techniques of hostage negotiators, and you need to learn them if you want to be good at self-defense. Schools that teach you how to fight only aren’t dealing with any of the above.

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Man in jail cell illustrating Krav Maga LKN’s focus on the legal side of self-defense, not just technique.

The Legal Ramifications Of Using Force

The fourth element of the five criteria for self-defense is “legal ramifications.” We have a saying at Warriors Krav Maga: "You have to win two fights. You have to win the physical one, should it become necessary, and you have to win the subsequent legal one."

Some schools teach you how to fight like a soldier… but forget you’re a civilian. Here in the U.S., what wins a street fight can land you in prison—or bankrupt you in court.

In martial arts circles, there’s a very famous case where an instructor taught a young man a bunch of different ways to kill someone with a knife. His instructor, however, failed to teach him the legal ramifications of doing so. He stabbed a bouncer in New York, killed him, and is now doing life in prison.

The other problem is, that even if you win the legal fight, it’s going to be expensive. $10,000 to $15,000 is the going rate for a halfway decent attorney to represent you in an assault case. However, even if you win the criminal trial, you might still face civil litigation. (Read about one martial arts/legal myth here)

Mindset

The Most Critical Self-Defense Skill

The final element of the five criteria for self-defense is “mindset.” Many consider it the most important element of all. Ask your potential instructor what else they teach other than techniques, and be prepared for a blank look. They should also be teaching you tactics and mindset.

The latter is the most important and also the hardest to teach. Your techniques won’t matter if your mindset’s not right. Can your instructor teach you to flip the switch—from passive to predator—when your life’s on the line?

Be Smart' sign representing Krav Maga LKN’s focus on mindset and decision-making in real-world situations.

Ask your instructor how he’s going to do that. If he’s legitimate, he can answer the question. Don't be surprised when yours can't.

If you want to train somewhere that checks all five boxes click here for your 2 week trial.