A fight is a clash between fully animated, independent combatants who are free to do whatever they want as they simultaneously attempt to impose their will on the other person.

Each combatant typically has no knowledge of the other's abilities, athleticism, technique, or experience. Fights are unlike training sessions—in part because your regular partners will generally move as you do since you've been taught and trained together.

Who the attacker may be in a self-defense situation is a total crapshoot; you never know who the hell he is or what his true intent is, just like you never know how the dice will come up when you roll them.

Add to this unpredictable situation the notion of consequence. There are real consequences present in these situations that are impossible to replicate in training: namely, serious injury or death. When a predator attacks you, he is committed to doing you harm.

There are consequences for doing nothing, just as there are consequences for taking action. This creates a tremendous amount of anxiety, which can significantly diminish your performance if you've trained poorly or have the wrong mindset.

Street fights are made up of momentary, fleeting opportunities that present themselves suddenly and then disappear just as quickly. The combatant who is inured to the stress of combat through experience or arduous training is far more likely to recognize these opportunities and remain able to exploit them to his or her advantage.

This is why realistic training with consequences—pain, potential injury, and so on—is so important. Kata won't get you there. Hitting pads won't, either.

Drills? They fall short as well.

You have to actually fight if you want to get good at fighting.

Period.

The Importance of the Right Mindset

The mindset necessary to deal effectively with the fight environment is complex, but it can be summed up succinctly: You have to stop the attacker. And you have to stop him within the law.

There are levels of force that are appropriate given the seriousness of the assault. You don't have to agree with that or even like it, but it is the law. You can't shoot someone because they raise their fist at you—unless you want to eat your meals out of metal trays with sporks for the rest of your life.

When teaching boxing and Muay Thai, new students initially think their "defense" consists entirely of evasion, avoidance, and blocks. I spend a tremendous amount of time instilling effective footwork, slips, blocks, and various guards.

But the truth is that while all of that is essential, new students still don't have an adequate defense until they can (and do) hit back effectively.

You need to stop the advancing fighter by hurting him, making him realize that he, too, is at risk. If you don't attack and hurt an attacker, he will have no reason to stop trying to hurt you. Merely deflecting his strikes and trying to be evasive amounts to delaying the inevitable "big one" that puts you on your ass.

The Concept of Self-Offense

This brings me to the concept of "self-offense." I coined the term in the mid-'90s when I worked with Paladin Press to create an instructional DVD of the same name.

The biggest misconception the term "self-defense" promotes is that no one will get hurt. It’s often seen as the “gentle art.” Gentle does not stop an attacker and help you survive a street fight; making him unconscious or hurting him until he can't continue to attack does.

There's no safe way to do dangerous things. That's why they're dangerous. Fighting in self-defense is inherently risky. Training yourself to initially defend against an attack is important because, if you're unconscious, that's all she wrote.

But training yourself to immediately attack is just as critical. If you don't, you'll find yourself stuck in the self-defense loop instead of attacking and stopping the aggressor.

Training the Right Way: Attack First, Defend Second

Training yourself to immediately attack an attacker is largely a pursuit of both mindset and efficiency. Focus on the rightful indignation you would feel were you to be unjustly attacked and on your intent to render him sufficiently injured or unconscious, thereby eliminating the threat.

Remember that when you're hitting the pads and doing drills to increase your intensity. Most importantly, remember it when you free-spar, do randori, or engage in whatever form of person-on-person training you prefer.

Try to focus on the most direct route(s) to stopping your training partner. Don’t use anything stylistic. Approach your training with the self-offense mindset and remember that what you're doing has nothing to do with an art form.

Your only goal is to stop an unknown person with bad intent who's determined to hurt you.

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