Effective Self-defense

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 Self-defense is taught as part of all fighting arts programs at The Shotokan Karate Dojo. We teach many levels of different classes of self-defense. The common factor in the self-defense taught by us is that it is truly effective.

What is often seen is some self-defense teachings will not work and might make a negative situation worse. Learning some types of ineffective self-defense creates a false sense of security only leading to extreme violence. It is often falsely stated that because someone is a black belt, in the military, or “grew up fighting” that they are qualified to teach self-defense. Those people may be worthy adversaries, but to teach effective and practical self-defense one must have the understanding of realistic capabilities and how to exploit specific weaknesses in dealing with aggressive behavior. It’s equally important to teach the extent of counter reaction necessary, including what the law allows.  

The effectiveness of physical self-defense against aggression lies within aspects such as understanding the biomechanics, psychology, and the ability to use defensive techniques in a functional and realistic way. 

What is most often prevalent by profit driven self-defense courses is the absence of karate-jutsu understanding, karate-based knowledge that comes only from an experienced karate instructor, observance of demographics and environment, and attention to the ability of the intended victim. 

At the Shotokan Karate Dojo our self-defense instructors address different tactics and strategies that work for any individual based on their abilities. To grasp the effectiveness of self-defense requires the understanding that most attacks will not come from what one imagines. It will come unexpectedly. One should understand that the state of mind of attackers are often not cognitively the same as others due to emotions or altered by drugs. Moreover, children, women, and adult males have different physical limits and different advantages compared to each other, which must be exploited in order to effectively execute practical self-defense.

We not only couple self-defense with all our fighting arts training, but teach it exclusively in specified courses such as women’s self-defense, the Jane Doe course, professional security training, anti-bullying courses, and other educational programs. 

All self-defense instructors at the Shotokan Karate Dojo are qualified to teach specified areas of effective self-defense.