WEEK 2

MASTER THE BASICS

This is your WEEK 2 material. This week, keep in mind that it is CRUCIAL to master the movements and drills one at a time as we provide them to you. It may seem like a slow process at first, but this allows adequate time and enough repetitions for the brain to body neural connections to develop. This is sometimes referred to in brain science circles as "neuroplasticity," or "rewiring of the brain." You don't have to go fast at first. Practice slowly in the beginning with perfect form. Repetition after repetition of perfect form builds a solid foundation. In the long run, you will be much faster if you have better form.

The rate of content release for this course is very fast, even though it may not seem that way. Develop the discipline to practice these basics every day--preferably for AT LEAST 15 minutes per day. Self-defense is about movement. Movement pertains to a lot of things--such as speed, power, coordination, balance, timing, and overall fitness. These are things that our stick-fighting drills are designed to address all at once. So stick with these drills! (no pun intended)

There's an old saying that you should keep in mind... "The longest way round is the shortest way home." Keep practicing "Drill 1," but add these new movements to your routine. Practice! Practice! Practice! Over the course of the next couple of months, your repertoire of training drills is going to build up faster than you think! But from a self-defense perspective, being able to perform just one strike (such as the basic thrust) instinctively, accurately, quickly, and powerfully while under stress is better than knowing many different strikes and not being able to perform them in the critical moments of a real attack. Some people FORGET THEIR OWN NAME under the stress of a real attack, so MASTER the basics! They should become as easy to you as walking and breathing.

SELF-DEFENSE IS A BROAD TOPIC

Please use common sense and keep in mind that self-defense has many aspects. Almost all martial arts/self-defense schools claim that their's is the superior form of practical self-defense. Take Jiu-jitsu for example. This is certainly a bona-fide martial art. However, it deals primarily with ground fighting and thus covers only one PART of a larger self-defense picture. In addition to joint locks and chokes, self-defense also includes attacking vulnerable parts of the body such as the groin, the throat, the eyes, etc. It even includes picking up and wielding an object such as a stick, a broken bottle, a knife, a waist belt, etc.--and it can also include throwing something. Therefore, it's quite clear that training in only one "style" or "type" of martial art/self-defense such as jiu-jitsu leaves you wide open to being hurt in a wide variety of dangerous situations. Ask yourself questions like: What if there are multiple attackers? What if one or many of the attackers are armed? For this reason, our training is designed to prepare you for WHAT WORKS MOST EFFICIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY in SURVIVING real attack situations. You're not trying to win a fair fight. There is no glory in fighting for your life, only survival. FIGHTING IS NOT FAIR. It's about doing whatever it takes to defeat someone who is trying to steal your precious life from you! That being said, we can only address one thing at a time. Therefore, we give you these weapons first:

1) Run away or escape (call the authorities and let them do the job they swore an oath to do)

2) Hide or barricade yourself if you can't escape

3) Always be looking for something you can use as a weapon to create standoff from the attacker(s)

4) If you have to fight, deliver a devastating attack or quick series of attacks, preferably with a weapon, then quickly make your escape

Self-defense includes tactics and awareness such as how to read situations and body language. When you enter a restaurant, do you ask yourself questions like, "if someone came through the front door and started shooting, where would I want to be sitting? What would be my actions?" And think about this: Self-defense includes pre-planning and hiding improvised weapons such as sticks along your normal walking routes, in your home, your car, or at your work place (remember that if someone finds a stick that you have hidden, it's just a stick). Self-defense also includes talking to your neighbors about neighborhood security and coming up with a solid home security plan. Finally, we would be remiss is we didn't address the fact that the ultimate weapon of personal self-defense is a firearm. We offer firearms training and tactics to our students. There's more, but this should be a good enough start!

NEVER STOP TRAINING

Ultimately, truly being safe comes with being responsible and having the discipline to continue on the learning path. It comes with training at least a little bit every day. Training should become a daily habit that stays with you for the rest of your life. These days, individual citizens MUST take responsibility for securing themselves. With the kinds of terrorist and criminal threats that exist in the world, the military and law enforcement professionals can't be there to protect everyone. If someone pulls out a knife and starts attacking people, the police will only arrive after-the-fact to write the reports.

VERY IMPORTANT: Remember that we are not just teaching self-defense! We are teaching a very special PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT routine. It is a form of physical fitness, meditation, and mental neuroplasticity training. Our program exercises the cardiovascular system, the muscles, and it builds skill. In addition to developing the body, it develops the brain. We're also teaching a philosophy for how to live life, become more successful, and overcome any challenge.

As you master these drills and techniques, they will stay with you forever. They can save your life and no one can take them away from you. Every day, you'll be a little bit safer and in a little bit better physical shape! You'll be more disciplined. You'll develop your mind so that you can learn OTHER skills more quickly. You'll also be more confident and sound in mind, body, and spirit! As the training gets harder, you'll get stronger and more highly skilled. As this happens, we'll make the training even more challenging! Eventually, you'll be able to overcome anything--even someone who tries to take your life away from you. Now go put on your headphones with some music and ENJOY THE TRAINING! As you learn more drills, it's going to get more fun!

Kindest Regards,

The Warrior Spirit Team