Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
Quality control disciplines have a huge purpose, to control the quality of what is provided is what people think when they hear the term/phrase. It comes down to a type of regulation and certification to ensure the public gets quality services or processes especially involving the exchange of monies involved. Not to diminish the importance of what is involved like, in self-protection terms, the bodily harm or death that can be involved.
Now, know this and take heed. The "buyer beware" adage people hear in that the martial arts and karate industries, especially in regard to self-protection/defense, are NOT regulated and ARE self-certifying or self-certified. This means, in all likelihood, the guy running the dojo is self-certified and at the very best certified by some other guy who is likely self-certified. There is no oversight by any governing, valid and authoritative organization or standards or practices. There is NO QUALITY CONTROL except what the self-certified deem and insist on.
Many people are duly impressed upon entering a dojo for they see the "atta-boy" wall of honor that houses certificates, certifications, bling as in other impressive accolades like art work, etc., and other such things that are NOT from any accredited sources we normally consider valid and quality oriented for enforcement of standards and practices.
There are not government controlled and certified agencies involved; there is no FORMALLY recognized, expect by those very same self-certified member driven orgs, organizations that maintain professional standards and practices in the discipline (e.g., like American Medical Association for medical professionals), or any other unbiased organization with standards and practices for quality control over the industry/businesses.
All this is about ensuring you, the buyer for you are buying services in these instances even when self-protection/defense oriented, are actually going to get a value that will not end your life or result in grave harm to you physically, mentally and economically.
The following are questions and concerns you should know and use when seeking out self-protection through martial arts and karate. It is about recognition that although a school or facility advertises self-defense that you recognize that what is actually being provided reaches a level of accuracy and proficiency in that effort, self-defense defense. Ask the following:
- Is this a sport being taught?
- Is this a “one stop shopping” business?
- Will the self-defense applications work:
- How much time is spent teaching you what's involved in scaling force for different situations?
- How much time is spent developing the ability to do while adrenalized?
- Does the program teach you about understanding and staying within appropriate use of force parameters?
- Does the program teach you abut the “wheel barrow test,” Simple. "Can you put it in a wheelbarrow?" If something has a physical existence you can. If something doesn't have a physical existence, you can't. While whatever-that-issue-is may be important, it isn't as 'real' as something physical?
- Does the program teach you when to stop in self-defense?
- Does the program teach you about how crime and violence happen?
- Does the program teach you about self-defense being about protecting your body, not your feelings or ideals.
- Does the program dedicate time spent talking about society, rights and socialization instead of self-defense related issues. (e.g., how not to go to jail for defending yourself)?
- When it comes to self-defense techniques the filters are slightly different. They are:
- Does the move have required mechanics to work?
- Does it work against a larger/stronger/non-cooperative person?
- How specialized/over-generalized is it?
- What is the context for its use?
- What are the legal restrictions/ramifications, etc., on its use?
- Does the school use a lot of business acumen and advertisements, etc., indicating its commercial objectives where there would be concerns about getting hurt or having insurance concerns that would water down what is being taught, etc.?
- Doest the school push the sport aspects while advocating their value for self-protection?
- Does the program involve principles such as “physiokinetic’s or what is termed body mechanics” for their protection methodologies?
- Does the program have, “force testing for methods used in self-protection?”
- Does the program differentiate between sport, fighting and defense both reality and legally?
- Does the program teach defense using experienced, larger, pissed-off aggressive, unpredictable and ready to do grave harm opponents under a more reality based adrenal stress oriented method?
- Is the advertisement, etc., a “fear-based perspective” when providing information to sign up for their program that includes self-defense?
- Do they teach you the differences as to circumstances as to what self-defense is and when it exceeds the self-defense legal and social limitations taking it into excessive force?
- Does the program teach the chaos and moving line that is the demarkation between adequate acceptable force to excessive illegal force?
These and possibly many other questions should be in your tool box when seeking self-defense. It is something even current practitioners should review from time to time to ensure what they are training, practicing and applying under the umbrella of self-defense is and remains appropriate to actual hands-on self-defense in the real world. Otherwise, then we must consider what we are doing in our martial art and karate classes as either or/both sport and recreational, like a club house social connection effort, discipline thus leaving self-defense/protection out of it completely.
Beware tho, most if not all such commercial efforts are likely to use influence compliance efforts to sell you on their programs simply because it is about money, business and that dojo’s livelihood. It is about being aware and wary of their ability to influence how you view their services. Buyer beware!
Reference: No Nonsense Self-Defense by Marc MacYoung and Dianna MacYoung @ https://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com
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