Everything you do is important. The quality of execution in small details can lead to big successes or huge failures. Imagine a busy contractor building a house.  In a rush to finish the job, he takes small shortcuts. He follows the building plans, but sometimes he doesn’t add as many nails as he should. Tired, he sometimes does not quite measure and cut everything true. He makes it "good enough” so that he can get the job done.   Some of the shortcuts may not really matter, but many together add up to create significant weaknesses in the structure and potential dangers to those who will live there. In the end, the house looks ok, but really all the small shortcuts, overlooked details, and imperfections could make the whole house crumble. The house appears normal, but, ...

In a recent article, I discussed the Resistance, an unseen, insidious guerrilla force determined to stop you from reaching your goals. In this article, I will give you some tips on how to fight it. The Resistance is a tough opponent. The Resistance fights dirty. It will use anything to undermine you. Because of this, you must cultivate powerful weapons to defeat it. When fighting the resistance, you must be persistent. You must fight every attack no matter how big or small. Even if you take a hit, you have to continue. You have to keep bearing down. You have to put everything into it whether you think you will win or lose. You cannot let the Resistance get away with anything. You must be relentless. You must be relentless when fighting for your goals. This means you must be unyielding and ...

If training were simply a matter of doing the right drills and exercises, everyone would be a badass. But it’s not just physical, it’s mental. If your mind is not already strong, then consistantly following the steps it takes to reach your goals is hard. You find seemingly legitimate reasons to postpone, skip, or even give up on the actions you must take.  Most of us end up fighting our thoughts, and in doing so, sabotage our dreams. A closer look at what’s going on inside your mind will help you take action and learn to fight for your goals. The Resistance The world is out to kill you. No, you’re not paranoid. It’s true. You reach for high goals, but life fights unfairly. You were supposed to workout, but something came up at work. You want to train, but your shoulder is hurting agai...

Physical skills are only part of the skills that you need for self defense. You must have cognitive skills too.  One of the most important cognitive skills you can cultivate for self defense is situational awareness. What is Situational Awareness? Simply put, situational awareness is knowing what is happening around you.  It is knowing your environment and what events are occurring nearby.  In terms of self defense, situational awareness includes knowing what is happening, and knowing what, if anything, you should do about it. To do this, you must derive meaning from the circumstances in which you find yourself. Situational awareness is your perception of the environment and nearby events together with your assessment of how your actions will affect your immediate and near f...

Check out this short video of training that we have been doing recently at the Tactical Arts Academy. In the video, you will see edged weapon survival techniques from our Self Defense class. The series is from the Edged Weapon Survival module. Included in the video are a few basic tips for applying the techniques.  If you are interested in learning more about Self Defense, consider joining the Tactical Arts Academy Self Defense Program. Training includes learning to survive a knife attack as well as weapon retention, weapon disarming, other weapon skills and empty hands. Click the button below to learn more about the program and sign up for a free visit. You’ll learn more about Tactical Arts, you’ll have the opportunity to watch our classes in action, and you’ll discover if our traini...