“Too Long Don’t wanna Read(TLDR)” Summary:
Tarrget Focus Training(TFT) revolves around YOU getting in the first strike or injury on your attacker. The problem is, you are not an assassin and this isn’t sentry removal. The criminal has an advantage because HE acts first.
This is why you, the law abiding citizen, must get your arms up into some type of non-threatening, defensive interview stance. TFT is full of sh*t. Larkin basically shows how you can “cause injury” even with your hands in your pockets. AKA, no need for defense, just offense. If you believe in this (as I certainly use to), you are also full of sh*t.
If a man is getting in your space, don’t keep your hands down but don’t make an overt boxing stance. Use the Jack Benny stance (Google this) as if you were scratching your chin or something. Or put your palms up at eye level. At the very least keep your arms folded across your chest.
When he’s closing in on you HARD, you always try to COVER your face with at least one forearm. One arm should be up at a 90-degree angle as if you were trying to cover your ear. And keep your CHIN DOWN. This is how you move in the street. THIS is what Mr. Ross is known for. Check out his videos for the details. Than take a look at Larkin or any TFT instructor. TFT guys move like Hollywood actors.
<End of Summary>
Friends, to be honest, Target Focus Training has a reputation head and shoulders above everything else in the Reality Based Self Defense industry. Not really meaning much, but there’s a reason why TFT has an endorsement from “celebrities” such as Glenn Beck and Matt Furey. TFT’s founder, Tim Larkin, was featured on Alex Jones’ talk show. Krav Maga has NOTHING on TFT. What initially drew me towards TFT after studying Krav was its (relative) simplicity and claim their methods aka coordination sets could be trained entirely at home with just about anyone. Or what they call a “reaction partner.”
Typical at-home setup to train TFT, just some space and a mat
After ordering their Striking Series, I was HOOKED. I immediately ordered their weapons series (back when it was called “Nuclear Weapons”, they just call it the “Weapons Series” now), along with Joint Breaking/Lethal Leverage, as well as Justified Lethal Force (a seminar geared specifically towards law enforcement). After training at home with a neighbor as my “reaction partner,” I was really on the fence about coughing up the dough to attend a live training seminar.
This was until this one specific confrontation had occurred where I realized I could have been KILLED BECAUSE of my training in TFT. See, TFT teaches you their training is the equivalent of a loaded gun(it’s not) and to never use it unless you were facing an asocial attacker(How do you know?). As a result, sparing the trivial details, this one guy I knew went from normal conversation to invading my space and yelling a bunch of profanities directed at me. I’m sure 99% of guys have experienced this.
Keep in mind, I outweighed this guy by a good 20 pounds of muscle and he had not touched me at this point, he just seemed like a pissed off asshole. As I was trained, I ignored him. As I broke eye contact to walk away, BANG! I got sucker punched. THANK GOD it was the weakest “my sister could hit harder” sucker punch ever. THANK GOD for wrestler’s neck bridges. Long story-short, the fact I didn’t get knocked out or even looked shaken up probably broke his spirit to want to do anything else.
At this point I was in an awkward position, I still realize this is an anti-social situation yet, I realized I might easily get injured if I don’t do anything. So just as I had been trained to do in TFT, I “penetrate” and throw my bodyweight at him like a bat and step in-between his legs and displace him with a…? Exactly, I was reluctant to drive my forearm through his neck as I had trained, since I THOUGHT, the situation didn’t warrant it, so what happened? I ended up driving my forearm into his freakin CHEST! Now, THANK GOD, I had what Larkin calls the 3 advantages. I was bigger, faster, and stronger and he ends up flying away from me and just HAPPENED to end up slipping on the curb and falling. He didn’t hit his head on the CONCRETE hard enough to die, but he must have been dazed since I was able to walk away.
What bothered me looking back on this was the what if I DID get shaken up on the first sucker punch. I felt like it would have been my fault.
If this happened, one sucker punch would turn into a barrage of punches. And God knows what would happen if I got knocked unconscious.
If this happened, what if I hit my head on the concrete. And while God knows this is a worse-case scenario, even TFT points out how even schoolyard shoving matches have ended in someone dyeing.
If this happened, what if I was with a relative or girlfriend? Only God knows what some thug might do to them if I was out of the way.
I decided this sh#t was never going to happen again. I needed to start assuming ANYONE could be dangerous even if they just appear to be a little “antisocial” as TFT likes to call it. I started looking for answers. Obviously, never leaving home was not an option. I also didn’t want to walk around in Cooper’s Condition Orange: paranoid and unable to relax whenever I left the house. This was when I found Damian Ross’s introductory
and DRILL IT INTO YOU IN BOTH 60 Minute Self Defense AND Module 1 of the SDTS) even though I SHOULD HAVE. Hell, EVEN BAS RUTTEN talked about having your hands in what we call the “Jack Benny” stance when talking to someone in a viral street fighting instructional video all over Youtube.
Overall, TFT is doing a huge disservice by indoctrinating students with the theory they should only use the tool of violence in asocial scenarios, whereas the reality is it will be very difficult to tell the difference. It is really rare to have a car pull up next to you and have 5 guys get out and surround you. This is clearly an asocial situation where it’s pretty obvious you’re getting jumped. Here, you can go straight into causing injuries and attacking.
But for all the other scenarios, scenarios in which you ARE LEGALLY JUSTIFIED in utilizing SOME AMOUNT of force since there exists at least the POSSIBILITY of BODILY HARM, there needs to be intermediate steps and PHYSICAL actions taken so that you are not at risk of suffering the first injury since the criminal has the advantage in that he’s acting first and that he’s approaching you.
In a mugging scenario, if the guy holds you at KNIFE or GUN-POINT, even if it would appear to be “anti-social” where you THINK HE JUST WANTS YOUR MONEY and if you gave him the money everything would be cool, why even bother thinking about legal ramifications? Serious bodily harm is definitely possible so either FIGHT or FLIGHT.
YOU SIMPLY CAN’T WAIT FOR HIM TO START STABBING YOU TO TAKE ACTION OR UNTIL YOU KNOW FOR SURE IT’S ASOCIAL. Even the other day when a friend all of a sudden put his arm on my shoulder, I immediately hit him with a shoulder stop or punch-stop from Module 1, a non-lethal pre-emptive strike which off-balances him and prevents him from punching me or drawing a gun or stabbing me, just in case. Call me a little paranoid, but better safe than sorry. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not get punched in the face because he heard a rumor his girlfriend was cheating on him with me.
Ok, this article is getting too long, so be on the look out for Pt.2 where I detail the unnecessarily complicated techniques behind their strikes and coordination sets.
Where are the videos of the SDTS? Again, go here, enter your email to GET ON DAMIAN’S MAILING LIST FOR MORE FREE TACTICS AND TIPS, and GET INSTANT ACCESS TO A FREE 4-PART ONLINE COURSE put together by Damian Ross which will OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE SIMPLICITY AND SUPERIORITY of these methods over TFT.
And as always, HIT TO HURT,HIT WITH HATE…
-Young Wang
SDTS is by far superior. I had TFT, they were so confident about their product , I got a year guarantee. I got my money back after several months of phone calls.
HAHA, “several months of phone calls,” that’s time wasted that could have gone towards some productive training. Jim, I think you were better off listing their videos on ebay or selling them to a friend. Anyways, take care and have a nice day sir.
Why would I want to sell them to a friend when I could refer them to the SDTS???
Sell them at a higher mark-up than what you payed to a “friend” HAHA
Give your “friend” a false sense of security so you whip his ass!!!! hahaha
You are better off, with CarlCestari.com Videos/dvd. Ross trained for a very short period of time, with Carl Cestari, compared to other students who currently teach, primarily in the east coast, with years of experience in WW2 Combatives. Clint Sporman, Ralph Grasso. Current and former police officers, respectively. With Ross making these videos, with the late Carl Cestari’s material, it seems like he trained the longest time, with Mr. Cestari. Not true!
Coming from someone who owns nearly all of Carl’s DVDs, Ross’s site is the better value since you get Carl’s tapes for free as a bonus to the site’s elite membership. With respect to Clint and Ralph, ask them to post PROOF of Carl saying how Clint is the successor of Carl. Doing something for a long time doesn’t make you good at it. Compare Clint’s clips to Damian’s and you can tell Damian understands the Keep it Stupid Simple philosophy of Carl much better than Clint, in my opinion. This is reflected with the clarity of instruction and reflected by Ross’s experience as an athlete who understands how to coach the average Joe from “zero to hero.”
TFT is a joke. “Everything that happened before you injured your opponent is irrelevant.” That is a sorry ass excuse to not show how to deal with an opponent that is fighting back.
yes, opps that are never fighting back; seems like paul vunaks’ driving-forward straightblast-to-trap-to-SDTS, muythai, etc, would be in order for opps that are fighting, ie, arms up, punching, blocking, forcing you to dance or otherwise box for a while, rather than keep hitting his arms etc
I’ve taken Commando Krav Maga (CKM) from Moni Aizik (founder of CKM) and I have the whole series of TFT. I also have the SDTS. You are correct about CKM and TFT. SDTS is much better. You seem to have walked the same self-defense road I have and discovered the same thing.
JP
I would have to agree SDTS
Thank you for talking about the all to real situations that women face….
As I have faced all of these scenarios in life including the “Ted Bundy” psychopath, only diffrence is that it was an old school bus!
And still standing to talk about it, ( thanks to a matchbook stuffed In a doorlatch ( story for another day ) ) I fully support Damions SDTS as his techniques are effective, before I found his training system I learned by instinct some these technIques, distance being one of the most important factors, If they can get hold of you it can get really really bad, it happens extreamly fast so learnIng InstIntIvly to assess the situation quickly to avoid danger is one thing other systems don’t teach much…. I knew as soon as I viewed his website this was no B. S. …. I weight 108 lbs. 5′ 5″ …. most sd/ma systems are not practical for women in real world situations.
Kneeing in the groin is only effective if your assailant is close to your height and you can get at least 3 good hard hits In ( otherwIse you are off balance) and almost useless when thrown on your back on the ground especially if your chest is being straddled, usually only pisses off the assailant more and because they are adrenaline charged already you are defiantly at a disadvantage unless you are bigger and stronger than them.
Guns and knives are even harder for a women to process in the moment of attack, we freeze ( do what he says , dont want to dIe ) if not trainied to react… by that point they already have you in there grip and it’s even harder to escape…. Damion shows you how without a bunch of fancy footwork and technIques to try and remember, If you have to thInk about It Its to late! He shows you how to react wIthout getting killed even if they are way bigger than you!
Thank you Damion.
Awesome. This is probably the best advertisement for Damien’s system.
I’m taking the TFT seminar this coming weekend. In regards to your article: if at the
last minute you decided the situation didn’t warrant an elbow at the last second and
pulled your punch, you should have been able to recognize it before ever throwing the
elbow in the first place.
As a female I have been keeping up with SDTS also and there IS a problem w/Damien’s
philospohy. You can have a “reactionary gap” all you want but pepper spray is
beyond useless. If you’re going to gamble your life on something, use WASP spray
instead.
Watching SDTS, it seems to me – remember, a smaller weaker person, the SDTS “appears” to be more “competetion” based – meaning that there are so many
continuous striking sets – knife had to the jugular/carotid arteries UNTIL the other
guy shuts down. I feel I’m wasting precious energy in “hitting” the guy versus.
inflicting injury.
I would suggest you read Sanford Strong’s “Strong on Defense” to get the current
statistics on a woman;s chance for survival in any encounter. On her best day,
she only has a 50/50 chance in today’s violent society. During any armed robbery,
a person’s chance, male or female, is at best 50/50 – even when you comply – because
the drug(s) of choice are cocaine, meth, crank – all stimulants which fuel a rage.
Perhaps you could survey women who have experience with both systems and get
their compare and contrast on these two systems.
Very Respectfully,
Chris F.
I’m taking the TFT seminar this coming weekend.(So the money has already been wasted?) In regards to your article: if at the
last minute you decided the situation didn’t warrant an elbow(Forearm into the neck) at the last second and
pulled your punch(I didn’t pull it per se, I just drove it into his chest instead), you should have been able to recognize it before ever throwing the
elbow in the first place.(Did you read the part about me GETTING FREAKIN PUNCHED IN THE FACE BY THIS ASSHOLE! What was I going to do, just stand there and LET HIM HIT ME AGAIN UNTIL I’M UNCONSCIOUS AND THAN GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE!)
As a female(Ok than our less-than $30 course 60 minute self defense is perfect for you http://www.theselfdefenseco.com/60minute?AFFID=122248) I have been keeping up with SDTS also and there IS a problem w/Damien’s
philospohy.(You’re about to criticize a principle that has been proven to work and has stood the test of time in numerous field reports conducted by the greatest combative geniuses that have ever lived, including Carl Cestari, himself) You can have a “reactionary gap” all you want but pepper spray is
beyond useless.(To INJURE the man, yes, but to blind him temporarily, so that you can either ESCAPE OR INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF CAUSING THE FIRST INJURY INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND, than NO! TFT doesn’t make it clear that unless you establish a reactionary gap OUT OF HABIT, YOUR ATTACKER IS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GET THE FIRST INJURY THAN YOU ARE BECAUSE HE INITIATES THE ENCOUNTER WHEN YOU’RE OFF GUARD! That’s why he’s the bad guy haha) If you’re going to gamble your life on something, use WASP spray
instead.(Most cans are too big to be carried on one’s person and concealed daily)
Watching SDTS, it seems to me – remember, a smaller weaker person, the SDTS “appears” to be more “competetion” based – meaning that there are so many
continuous striking sets – knife had to the jugular/carotid arteries UNTIL the other
guy shuts down. I feel I’m wasting precious energy in “hitting” the guy versus.
inflicting injury.(WTF, the continuous striking to vital targets IS TO CAUSE INJURY and we’re not simply hitting him, this is NOT SPARING. Even TFT will tell you that we never assume the first strike takes him out which is why they and we have you get MULTIPLE INJURIES to factor in the very LIKELY scenario that you miss your target under a such a high-stress scenario. But in the event your FIRST shot does take him out, great. But better to TRAIN this way since better safe than sorry, right? I will cover more about this in pt. 3 but I know TFT indoctrinates its students that these strikes are elastic collisions and are therefore less efficient than the inelastic collisions in which all of the kinetic energy is transferred into the target but this is a bs flawed theory taken out of context from physics because if you factor in the conservation of momentum, the target area is accelerated backwards at a greater velocity if the masses DON’T STICK TOGETHER. Also in a perfectly inelastic collision, the energy of the strike will be dissipated across his entire body instead of simply being focused at that particular target area, which is good as a take-down even if it takes more time. But more simply put, since our system has stood the test of time and if it ain’t broke, DON’T FIX IT)
I would suggest you read Sanford Strong’s “Strong on Defense” to get the current
statistics on a woman;s chance for survival in any encounter.(Does this factor in women who have done the drills found in 60 Minute Self Defense? ) On her best day,
she only has a 50/50 chance in today’s violent society. During any armed robbery,
a person’s chance, male or female, is at best 50/50 – even when you comply(Which is why we never comply) – because
the drug(s) of choice are cocaine, meth, crank – all stimulants which fuel a rage.(Oh COME ON, even TFT will tell you that it doesn’t matter whether or not the individual feels pain, his body will react with the same spinal reflex as injury is the great equalizer since that area of the body that you’ve destroyed no longer works. A meth-head’s neck dislocates the same way anyone else’s neck does. I don’t care how he “feels” as long as he is NONFUNCTIONAL and unable to cause me any bodily harm.)
Perhaps you could survey women who have experience with both systems and get
their compare and contrast on these two systems.(Can you not see that the COMMENT ABOVE YOURS IS FROM A WOMAN? “distance being one of the most important factors, If they can get hold of you it can get really really bad, it happens extreamly fast so learnIng InstIntIvly to assess the situation quickly to avoid danger is one thing other systems don’t teach much” Yeah, TFT doesn’t teach this AT ALL which is the whole point of this post. I honestly don’t think you know all that much about EITHER TFT or what Damian teaches. )
So instead of withdrawing from the scene of the conflict, you escalated it to the point where the person could easily have fell and cracked his skull open.
This sounds less like a self defense issue and more like a personal issue. Something to do with sober judgment.
We teach you “sober judgement” and how to recognize and identify threats and to escape and act first if necessary in both 60 Minute Self Defense and of course the full, SDTS whereas TFT doesn’t. To be fair, Chris Ranhk-Buhr tells you his job is simply to teach you how to “do violence” to other people. Ok, but most people want to learn more than that, they want the COMPLETE PICTURE to know how they can improve their awareness of their surroundings, how to position their bodies tactically in a confrontation, what kind of weapons they should carry, etc.
When I wanted the complete picture, I went out and did my own research and training.
The problem with allowing people in positions of authority to tell you which side is left from right is that an individual begins to develop an over reliance on other people telling them how to think and how to solve problems.
Rather than look for somebody else’s product and work to copy in order to fill up my personal deficiencies, I looked straight at what I was missing, what my weaknesses were, and then put work into dealing with those.
That, of course, has nothing to do with whether anyone else wants to rely on Damian or Tim Larkin’s system. But that also means whether someone chooses to learn from either, or both, does not particular affect me.
There are plenty of sources that’ll tell people what’ll really happen. They just have to put some work into it and pay attention. Even Zimmerman’s police interrogation walkthrough can benefit a normal person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX1sxARNq_c
Most people won’t pay attention. Some will try to find gurus to tell them “how fighting is really done”. But all I can think of is that this is just people abdicating their personal responsibility to themselves, to improve themselves and not rely on crutches to walk through life.
Target Focus Training functions in a specific niche. It’s great for people that want a way to experiment and learn things for themselves. But it’s not designed for people who abdicate thinking in favor of an authority telling them exactly what to do.
Eventually people have to outgrow their training wheels and start to figure things out for themselves. There’s nothing wrong with one set of training wheels vs another. There might be a problem if the only thing someone can do to improve themselves is to rely on someone keeping their bike straight as they ride down through the road of life.
In human life, nobody knows the “full picture”. There will always be someone stronger, more powerful to fight or defeat. There will always be luck, never a 100% guarantee. This isn’t so much a martial art technique as wisdom gained through life. A life philosophy where a person only gains by keeping their competition down, is a rather disagreeable lunch for me. I tend to prefer other flavors.
Alright, I’ll just come out and say it…TFT is so full of sh#t looking back I can’t believe they were even legit, I guess if you compare it to all the other RBSD stuff out there, it’s the lesser of the evils. Whereas you can trace the historical lineage of ALL the PHYSICAL techniques, tactics, and principles found in the SDTS, TFT has SOME combos or coordination sets that look like they came from outer space and are so alien to anyone that’s ever been in a real fight. Real hollywood type stuff. I honestly think TFT makes up some techniques on the fly when they try to look cool on camera. Verbal, psychological stuff is BS at the worst and secondary at the least, the PHYSICAL tactics shown in the SDTS are what have been PROVEN historically to SAVE LIVES in the military/battlefield/police field reports of men like Fairbairn, Applegate and were refined through the experiences of the legendary Carl Cestari’s time in prison as an inmate being locked up with the same criminals he helped lock up as a cop. Trust me, once you watch and TRAIN in just Module 1, you will see how the decades of wisdom found just in the first module of the SDTS BLOWS AWAY everything else out there and COULD stand as a COMPLETE system ALL BY ITSELF.
I’m not easily impessred but you’ve done it with that posting.
Well Chris I’m a big fan of Strong on Defense and I don’t know if you got to Module 9 or 11 yet, but we cover how to overcome much larger attackers specifically with weapons training. Which is something, especially smaller and weaker people need to take seriously. This includes all manner of edged and impact weapons and how you can improvise everyday household items into weapons.
Does TFT do weapons training? I have no idea.
The reason for hitting non specific areas is simple, people put their hands up, you miss, they move – Sh!t happens. You may hit an arm or an elbow or their skull.
Look, I don’t know what “following” the SDTS means. You either have trained in it or you’re following emails and video clips.
As for women training in the system there are plenty. You can read some of the success stories here: http://www.theselfdefenseco.com/success_stories.html.
Since you’re attending a TFT seminar you’re probably investing a ton of money and for a third of that you could find out for yourself. Heck if you purchase it and don’t like it – I’ll give you your money back…if you have anything left after this weekend.
Hi Damien – thanks for the very constructive response. It seems I unfortunately
touched a nerve and insulted some people which wasn’t my intent.
I received the TFT as a gift from a corporate sponsor and the thing that appeals to me about TFT, which I think is SO VERY important – especially for women is “INTENT.” Perhaps, arguably, your readers think TFT may be a bit over-the-top or too aggressive and that’s okay. As you well know, in any confrontation, you can always adjust your power downward to what is necessary – but, if your take an injury, you can’t “rev up” back to 100% and that’s where you lose. Read about the bus rape India and you’ll understand why my main focus is always on intent.
Again, my comments aren’t meant to be offensive but here are my observations based on all my reading and research: men generally tend to fight – to gain a victory. Women generally have to “survive” which is the reason mindset and intent are so important – more important in fact, that the systems, style, techniques, ad nauseum. It’s drilling into people the “will to survive.”
I have from you your “Self-Defense for the People” and your two-disc set
“Fundamentals of Unarmed Combat” from 2007. “The Fundamentals of UNarmed Combat” was a gift to me and I was able to afford your “Self-Defense for the People.”
You said you’ve read Sanford Strong. May I please ask if you’ve also read Gavin de Becker’s “Gift of Fear?” and John Douglas “Obsession?” Both are excellent resources as is Sanford Strong.
I would very much like to add your SDTS training system to my collection and at one point (this was a few years back) was trying to sign on with your organization for the teaching certification but, at that time, your organization wasn’t set up to allow people to make smaller monthly installments. Like everybody else, circumstances are hard and as a single-income household, I still cannot safely add your program to my repertoire.
Please respond to this at your convenience and I will forward you and your readers my thoughts on the TFT seminar.
Thanks for all you do.
Haha I’m not offended, I just need to keep the comments section of my blog interesting to read, it’s nothing personal. You just seem like the type that likes to read and read and collect books and DVDs like stamps without actually training extensively. I know fundamentals of unarmed combat gave you numerous drills to hit a BOB with as well as hand conditioning with a brick but have you done of any of this? It’s not enough to simply watch a DVD and attend a seminar from time to time if you want to be LETHAL. However, if you actually did the drills found in 60 MInute Self Defense or Self Defense for the people http://www.theselfdefenseco.com/60minute?AFFID=122248 EVEN ONCE you would be able to ESCAPE before things get ugly. If you’re referring to 2012 Dehli gang rape case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Delhi_gang_rape_case, pepper spray might not have INJURED those men on the bus, but it sure would have gotten them to flinch so that she could attack the driver with some knife hands, get him to open the door and get off the buss with the help of her male friend who also should have been carrying pepper spray. This woman HAD THE WILL, but not the means to survive. She TRIED to injure those men on the bus, biting them and TRYING to gouge an eye,etc. but she was simply OVERPOWERED and LAGGING HER ATTACKERS WHO WERE THE INITIATORS. SHE DIDN’T REALIZE SHE GETTING RAPED/ASOCIAL SCENARIO UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. She couldn’t flip the switch in time because it’s very hard for the average person to be able to go from 0-60 and KILL her attacker. THIS ILLUSTRATES MY POINT EXACTLY, she and her male friend THOUGHT it was an antisocial situation(They probably just want money/we can try to talk our way/negotiate our way out of this). Instead of thinking, they should have just pepper sprayed the men and demanded the driver open the door. It’s not a difficult decision to make to pepper spray someone since it’s not lethal but it is HARD for someone as Larkin says to step up and cause an injury. And even if the switch went off that it was asocial and she went straight in with a forearm into a man’s trachea and crushed it(got an injury and got a reaction) she’s unlikely to be able to injure all of the other men on the bus who will now proceed to INJURE HER and cause multiple traumas TO HER since they have BOTH THE INTENT AND THE MEANS. Remember this one thing, Chris, we human beings are the DOMINANT SPECIES on this planet because of our ability to use TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY to compensate for our lack of strength, speed, numbers, etc. I know TFT does weapons training with a knife and stick but unless you’ve actually stabbed anyone/thing you really don’t know how hard and messy things can get when the knife gets “stuck” in all his tissues and unless you have a powerful, strong grip, you’re not going to be effective. Chris, since you are a woman and I’m assuming busy with your career to make ends meet just like all the rest of us, YOUR BEST BET FOR SURVIVAL would be to CARRY PEPPER SPRAY AND MASTER THE DRILLS FOUND IN 60 Minute Self Defense and FORGET ALL THE BS that TFT thinks you’re capable of doing.
This post is mostly about how to win fist fights and why certain people can’t teach you how to win fist fights. Which is, perhaps, the point.
It’s not fist fight if you’re not the one that starts it, seriously just take 2 minutes out of your busy life to watch LESSON 1 of our FREE ONLINE COURSE and you will see all the gaps and shortcomings of TFT.
One of the things I hear often is that every party in a fight thinks somebody else started it.
In a fight, both sides claim self defense and both sides claimed the “other guy” started it.
This sounds vaguely familiar now as I read the details.
So as you were talking, the other person got mad and pushed you. He was already at a certain “emotional escalation”. Instead of de-escalating it with words that acknowledge the source of his disagreement or anger, you instead acted like he was nothing to you, that his strength and his ability to challenge you was equivalent to a cockroach or something. That even comes across in text in the short description you gave.
Most people are not blind, so they can easily see your body language and read what you actually think and feel. This becomes the “trigger” and is considered an escalation by the other party.
What’s funny is that you didn’t think you did anything. The fact that you don’t even realize how other people perceive your reactions to them, is a problem in and of itself. Which has nothing to do with Damian or Tim Larkin to begin with.
The point is that Target Focus Training doesn’t teach you to react to anti-social situations and idealistically tells you that all anti-social violence is avoidable. The point is that you can’t perceive a threat whether that’s a shove, a stab, or a punch unless you establish a reactionary gap and TFT is setting up their students to be the ones that are injured FIRST in a violent confrontation by not teaching about the importance of distance and positioning.
You may find Russel Stutley’s OCFM program practical. It also establishes reactionary distance, as well as a hard wired body response to surprise attacks (Body Alarm Reaction). Your program is also simple, and I do like the throws you have. I am always ready to learn from any source, including TFT. Yes, TFT will have the weakness cited above, BUT, if you have an offensive, penetrating Krav type mindset, it also has many ideas worth incorporating, especially when it comes to disarming (although Krav efficiency is hard to beat). You are right about getting in condition…and I do consider your approach while considering the others….
By the way, your tackle and pound method per your personal testimony sounds interesting. I don’t remember you demonstrating it, but, if you take out the knees in surprise manner, can be effective, even if risky when leading with the head, but it will take athleticism to perform! Do you have it videoed anywhere?
Always ready to learn,
Bob
Bob,
Weapons disarms are useless, impractical and do not work under stress. They train you to shift focus off the attack and incorporate finite motor skills that are not there for you under real stress.
Bob, I feel obligated to respond since this is my blog, but what exactly are you talking about? I know Damian promoted some of Stutley’s stuff but from the clips that I’ve seen it seems to be catered for a more talented/skilled individual who is able to utilize more complex motor movements in the heat of battle(such as a spin into a rear naked choke which I know Carl Cestari was fond of as a followup to a shoulder stop) and his pressure point stuff kind of reminds me of Systema to be honest and I’m sure SOME people could pull it off. I know a bunch of instructors allude to the reactionary gap since it really is common sense just like the following distance when driving, but no-one has been able to explain how a reactionary gap relates to foot-position, hand-position, and the idea of your stance lining up with his center line for an effective drop-step entry pt. of attack the way carl or damian has explained it. The throws from Mod 10 are from judo and they only work in the street if you’ve managed to disorient your attacker with blows first and are moreso for educational purposes of how they COULD and have been used. Now your really confusing me because TFT HAS NO DISARMS(at least not anymore, tim was definitely more in favor of disarms due to the training he had under jerry peterson’s scars but chris rahnk-buhr hated disarms with a passion haha so they’ve essentially been scratched out of their current curriculum) TFT or chris rahnk-buhr simply has you use “rotation and penetration” to move your body out of the way and into your attacker. they teach you to “ignore” the weapon, to NOT REDIRECT IT to NOT CONTROL it, but to simply focus on injuring targets. And how the fuck is “Krav effciency tough to beat?” Have you not read my last article http://killerphysique.com/blog/the-best-self-defense-pt-1-the-sdts-vs-krav-maga which details all the reasons why krav is INEFFICIENT. and what other methods of conditioning are you considering? dont just say words for the sake of saying words haha. and what are you referring to with tackle and pound? im assuming you’re refering to damian’s go-to move on the street back in his younger days BEFORE he discovered the methods in the sdts where he would use a wrestling double-leg-takedown and end up on top of the guy for a ground and pound. again, damian has said that this isn’t ideal since you want to remain on your feet as much as possible so you can escape/deal with multiple attackers which is why the double leg takedown shown in mod 10 again for educational purposes only has you remain on your feet instead of going down with him. now if you ever end up going down and on top of him and for whatever reason you can’t stand up, damian goes over the ground and pound in mod 3. i hope that answers your question(s)?
Regarding the Pepper Spray.
Hmmm if you actually trained or even seen anything, the pepper spray is just a distraction and a deterrent. Like any other tool it’s not 100% effective (more like 70%). It has it’s obvious draw backs and is best used when you can avoid physical contact with the subject.
Regarding wasp spray – sure, no problem. We have instructors and students all over the world and pepper spray is not an option. So we recommend bug spray or even making their own concoction.
But you mentioned WASP spray and that recommendation is impractical for one simple reason.
Do you know what size can WASP spray comes in?
It’s huge. It’s that big because it has to be pressurized to shoot 20 plus feet into the air. Because no one wants to be near a wasp nest when they start spraying it.
The come in the large can because that is one thing you don;’t want to run out of. In the Home Depot and the local hardware store they don’t have small, medium and large – they have one size MEGA.
So do you have me believe that people will carry a huge can of WASP spray every where they go.
I call bullshit.
It’s impractical and it sounds like some self defense wanna be suggested without trying to live with it – and that’s the problem with TFT.
That’s a smart way of thniikng about it.
I have been training in both SDTS and TFT. Prior to that, in reverse order, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, Kempo/jiu-jutsu, Kenjutsu, Escrima, and spent many years practicing western medieval armored combat. I think SDTS and TFT go together like chocolate and peanut butter. It would be hard for me to choose just one. Where SDTS really shines, IMHO, is the learning curve when presented to an individual with no idea how to defend themselves. Damian’s moves are the ones I find myself falling back on the most anyway, and those wind up being the ones I teach people who come to me for help. TFT may require less training to reach proficiency than other martial arts – EXCEPT SDTS. Where TFT has an edge is the training methodology – learning to recognize spinal reflexes and what to expect in a REAL ENCOUNTER, combined with the added advantage of safety, while learning how to really get your ody weight behind your attack, and not programming your muscle memory to “pull punches”. Learning all about the adversary’s weak points (which are also your own) is or should be a staple in any close quarter combat arsenal. My point? Simply that I take the best of everything. When partner training, I use SDTS techniques with a TFT methodology – so we both improve faster without getting hurt or becoming mis-programmed. On a training dummy, pell, or training surface, I go all out.
I used to feel the same way about training with a reaction partner but the reality is that making contact and simply pushing through in slow motion is not realistic and you need a good reaction partner if you want to speed things up or try more advanced throws without hurting the individual. As Damian says partner training should make up only 5% at most of all the time you spend training. Spinal reflexes in general are common sense. We all instinctively know how the human body is going to bend over when the testicles are hit but the DEGREE of that reaction(where I feel TFT falls apart) depends on whether or not the testicles are simply stuck or are completely ruptured, and on the street, in the heat of battle, you’re not going to be able to tell the difference whether or not the chin juts out or he only kind of reaches for his groin as a natural instinct. Who knows, who cares, just keep hitting him until he’s OUT. As far as the sports medicine biology of what happens to the human body when this kind of trauma occurs, in my opinion it’s too much info. used to fill up space on dvds and take up time during seminars since you won’t be able to tell whether or not you got the actual injury since as I said, the spinal reflex could simply be because you made contact. I know they claim how it’s irresponsible to teach techniques without teaching or “informing” students of the consequences of the trauma but all you need to know is what Damian tells you and that’s if you hit him first and keep hitting him and stomp on him, he’s likely going to die, all of which is common sense. and if it’s just some drunk, you use the takedowns found in mod 10, guardian defensive tactics, or csi where ur still hitting first but not hitting him frequently or of course stomping him. again, common sense.
interesting to note: there was an earlier testimonial from a guy who had studied the SDTS but got away from really training in it… he forgot that part of the training to control personal space. the guy was able to get close enough to start punching him… luckily the other parts of his training did come back and he was able to come back and win the fight.
yeah, as a last resort, the cover that damian shows in mod 3 can be used even when ur on ur feet getting punched since theres a good chance that he breaks his fist on one of ur elbows and ur now in the perfect position to start launching edge of hands with a vengeance. as damian says, even monkeys fall out of trees. plus after mods 6 and 7, especially the wrestlers neck bridging i do (6:50 of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A8s1QnaXLo) i never get whiplashed even in roller coasters since i have a thick bull dog neck and traps.
My biggest beef with TFT in addition to not emphasizing creating distance between yourself and your attacker and choosing escape whenever possible is this whole idea of antisocial vs asocial violence. If someone is trying or has intent on physically attacking you it doesn’t matter who it is doing it or why. Your life or at least your physical well being is at that point in danger. So you do whatever the hell you have to do to neutralize and eliminate the threat. Doesn’t matter if it’s your best friend who tries to throw down on you because he’s heard a false(hell even true) rumor that you’ve been fucking his girlfriend or a serial killer planning on making you his next victim. In fact, statistics show that some of the most brutal and violent crimes occur between family members, significant others, or friends where emotions run high whenever things go wrong and therefore can result in some very brutal crimes. Why else do police many times immediately begin looking at someone’s spouse as a possible suspect whenever they end up mysteriously murdered. The point is it doesn’t matter who is attacking you or why at that time you have the right and responsibility to respond to any threat against your life in the best and most effective way you can, which the SDTS will teach you unlike TFT which lays out all of these various ways you can maim or kill an individual but then will remind you that certain techniques are only to be used in “asocial” situations. You have the right to protect yourself and your loved ones but legally only to the point where your attacker is incapacitated or no longer a viable threat to you. Therefore, if your attacker is already laying on the ground helpless or unconscious and you at that point go ahead and snap his neck or break his back which TFT encourages you to do and then just for the hell of it kick or stomp in the back of his neck or skull, you could then be facing murder charges or at the very least attempted murder or aggravated assault charges if the person is lucky enough to live. Again asocial or antisocial situation it will not matter in court either lol.
Exactly, if you’re training in the SDTS you likely never need to stomp on the guy since you’re able to knock the guy out while he’s still on his feet and he will just happen to slip and fall ON HIS OWN and hit his head on the concrete since he’s going unconscious, especially if you’re doing the hand conditioning found in Module 6. Something that TFT ALSO NEGLECTS having their students do. Hitting someone in slow motion and pushing through FEELS A LOT DIFFERENT than HITTING SOMEONE FULL SPEED. Our philosophy is that if you can hit a BRICK at full speed and force, the human body will feel “soft” by comparison. Will elaborate on this point more in Pt. 3.
The anti-social vs asocial thing has got me thinking and in a way it’s builds in kind of a fail safe for TFT and it’s actually an interesting way to position it.
Only use it when you’re facing a sociopath.
First you guys nailed it, how do you know? Second, even as TFT will point out a push can turn into a homicide.
Finally they show a lot of “death blow” techniques – we have our own offerings in Module 12, but they are intended as a complete study of close quarters combat.
Regardless if you are dealing with a serial killer or not, you can’t use excessive force on ANYONE.
We train until the threat has stopped. In the video above with the figure 4 leg lock (why a civilian would do this is beyond me) the target is down, neutralized and no longer a threat. Especially if you pulled off that patently ridiculous take down in the first place. I should point out that if you hit him hard enough so that you could pull off that take down, you could probably just push him over.
So you’ve knocked him down, controlled him – he’s down and now what? You decide to get up and stomp the back of his brain in?
Congratulations you went from victim to murderer!
Funny, after watching that video do you know what I smell?
Martial Art.
That death blow bull shit is a tell tale sign of a martial art. The whole thing is – complicated and fancy. Waste of time and useless.
You’re better off hitting a heavy bag, doing pushups, pull ups and sit ups.
Finally back to my original point..the interesting marketing angle.
OK, so you’re only supposed to use it when you’re faces with a REAL threat. All others you just walk a way from .
Well since you can’t perform a psychological evaluation on your assailant. I don’t know, maybe Tim gives you a Rorschach test kit with your order, you will ALWAYS assume he’s antisocial – just like you did YW.
So what happens? You get it in your head that this person is NOT REALLY DANGEROUS. So you just try to walk away.
Most times it works because most people just like to posture and not fight…until they do. Then as you found out it’s over before it starts.
None of these systems understand that you need for focus on the gray area- the time BEFORE the fight. “Is this guy going to go for it or not?” We give you a real simple and proven solution to this.
How you end, what moves you do doesn’t matter squat if you get hit, stabbed or bludgeoned first.
All of them assume that you’re strike is going to work, you’re going to hit your mark and get the desired result.
The SDTS doesn’t. We assume failure and that’s how you train. It pushes you.
In a real fight NOTHING goes as planned. You need to adapt and channel your adrenaline into your target as fast and as hard as possible. More times than not you create openings rather than find them.
People survive and win because they tap into their will to survive and fight with a blood lust (for lack of a better term).
All of this other crap is window dressing.
“GO FROM FATASS TO BADASS, FROM GEEK TO FREAK: Look like you can kill, actually be able to, and your life will be a thrill.”
Seems like you have a tough time with your ego when it comes to simply walking away bro.
You say there is a very thin line between Anti and Asocial yet you had all sorts of tell tail signs screaming at you that this is not worth it, yet you chose to continue. I wasn’t there the night you almost lost your life but I’m positive that if you were to be honest with yourself you could have found a way to get out of that situation way before a punch was thrown.
So I’m sorry but all your story did was to prove that the principles of TFT are sound. Remember they never promised you that they would teach you how to be a bad ass, or how not to get hit, all they promise is that you will know how to put someone down and make them stay there, but you seem to be searching for that system that still allows you to be a “bad ass” , not get hit, tell the loud mouth to shut up, flip the guy off at the traffic light. And if you were then TFT is not the system for you and you should also get off of their wagon.
How many guys have you seen get clocked right in the jaw right AS they are looking away to walk away or AS THEY ARE TRYING TO REASON WITH THE GUY? Should they have walked away earlier, HELL YES but they didn’t realize things were going to go down…until they did…since most guys are all bark and no bite.
But on a more serious note, most of the time, criminals don’t exactly just lunge at you out of nowhere, they use what are known as “dodges,” SEE LESSON 1( of the Self Defense Co.’s FREE ONLINE COURSE, as an excuse to get close to you and for you to get your guard down as they better their position where they are the ones who are likely to get the FIRST INJURY. For example, the classic asking for directions, a light for a cigarette, the time, etc. and than they ATTACK while your hands and attention is occupied. Seriously, just take 1 minute to enter your email on the right-hand side of that page and watch a 3 minute video clip to see EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
And the Self Defense Training System IS that system that teaches you how not to get hit, express your constitutional freedom of speech to TELL the man that just slapped your girl’s ass that his behavior is completely unacceptable and that he had better f#ck off, to tell the road-raged jackass who’s tailgating and putting you and your girl in danger to pull over, AND teaches you the street smarts to smoke out even the most cunning criminal and reveal his true intentions. As you’ll learn, it will only take you a few seconds to figure out if this guy is sincere or plans on making you his next victim.
Results are the only thing that matters. This is less of a problem with the 30 second read that is interpreted as “training” as it is a problem with people who can’t generate the results. When something incompetent or bad happens, they start looking for someone else to offload the responsibility on.
Pretty pathetic for an operative.
Considering I trained for a year in free-fighting and coordination sets with an actual reaction partner and owned TFT’s Striking, Joint Breaking, Nuclear Weapons, and Justified Lethal Force, I think it’s safe to say that I have a reason to be an unsatisfied customer. I honestly learned more about REAL self defense, everything from “bar fights” to “muggings” to knife “defense” after training in the drills in a $30 course that is Damian Ross’s 60 Minute Self Defense in ONE DAY than all of TFT’s instructional material COMBINED. Damian Ross’s stuff is what is going to make your TFT skills “work” in helping you identify when to act as well as teaching you how to use TOOLS and TECHNOLOGY(weapons) and how to integrate that into your training. No slow-motion PLAYING with a rubber knife and a toy gun and NO DANCING around BS with a reaction partner.
We didn’t come here to listen to a pathetic attempt at psychotherapy. The guy simply tried to highlight how his lack of awareness and reactionary gap put him at risk. A good system would have installed this in him. You obviously didn’t grow up in the wrong side of town, where anti social and asocial is a continuum with none of these artifical distinctions between the 2 as TFT teaches. He might have done the wrong thing when he should have walked away but the lesson learned was priceless and that makes it worth it. There is a reason we have the cliché that you learn more from your mistakes than your successes.
HHIS I should have thguoht of that!
It surprises me when people start judging about what’s better and what’s not.
I have both TFT and sdts. They’re different. You can’t say one is better than the other.
If I’m with my wife and kids the last thing I’d be concerned with is the other guy’s safety.
So it’s better, in my opinion, to learn both and more. That way you have more weapons in your arsenal to use as and when needed.
TFT’s stuff lacks proof. The SDTS is based on hundreds of real-world field reports by men that actually USED this stuff on a regular basis. Carl Cestari, Charlie Nelson, Rex Applegate, W.E. Fairbairn, the list goes on and on. If you really care about your wife’s safety, you would want to learn less and train more. Hick’s Law= The time it takes for you to react and make a DECISION goes UP with the more OPTIONS or CHOICES that you have. Or to paraphrase what Bruce Lee said, “I do not fear the man that has practiced 1000 different techniques, I fear the man that has practiced one technique 1000 times.” Look, if you want to collect a bunch of hypothetical combos aka coordination sets that those nerds literally pull out of their asses to look good on camera/provide SHOCK value, than more power to you. You can collect techniques like stamps, or you can choose to TRAIN in a handful of proven “moves” again and again and again and just make THOSE better.
BEING 61 YEARS OLD NOW AND NOT KIDDING MYSELF ABOUT MY FORMER ABILITIES, I HAVE REALIZED THAT USING YOUR HEAD BEFORE YOUR USING BACK IS KEY NOW MORE THAN EVER. THOUGH BEING ON TWO S.F. OPERATIONAL A-TEAMS AND SHORT OF CARRYING A WEAPON AT THE READY IN MY HAND (DERRINGER, POINTED OBJECT, PEPPER SPRAY, MINI ZAPPER, ETC.). I GEAR MYSELF TO BE READY GIVEN MY EXPOSURE LEVEL ( WALKING ON THE STREET, BEING IN THE CAR, BAR OR RESTAURANT/PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENT COMING IN AND OUT OF THE HOUSE, ETC. YOU MAY HAVE ONLY A SECOND TO REACT AND BEING PREPARED BY UNDERSTANDING YOUR EXPOSURE LEVEL CAN SAVE THE DAY. I WAS A CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLER FOR 8 YEARS. GOING DOWN TO THE GROUND TO TAP OUT A GUY OR SUBDUE HIM HAS ITS MOMENTS BUT PUTS YOU AT GREAT RISK WHEN THERE IS MORE THAN ONE. VIOLENCE OF ACTION IN THE MILITARY CREDO IS TAKEN FROM WHAT I CALL STREET DOG FEROCITY AND MOMMA BEAR DETERMINATION. FIGHTS ARE WON OR LOSS IN THE FIRST FEW SECONDS. GAIN THE ADVANTAGE TO REMOVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FROM DANGER….NOT TO DUKE IT OUT AND THRASH THE THREAT. DO NOT GET BAITED OR LURED INTO THE KILL ZONE. NOICE OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE, SOMEONE DISSING YOU TO POSITION YOU TOWARD , AWAY OR IN A DIRECTION GIVING THEM AN OUT OF CAMERA SHOT OR GIVING THEM SUPPORT BY OTHERS. THIS IS NOT TIME CONSUMING THINKING. BE INSTINCTIVE ABOUT YOUR SPACE AND THREAT LEVEL. I DO NOT WALK AROUND THE INSIDE OF MY HOUSE THE SAME I DO IN THE YARD AND THEN FROM THERE. THE STREET, THE MARKET, ETC. ONE LSAT NOTE AS I WILL GET THIS OTHER INFO ON DAMIAN AND LARKIN’S PROGRAM BESIDES WHAT KRAV I KNOW GIVEN MY RENEWED INTERESTS IN SELF PROTECTION FOR PEOPLE AT MY LEVEL OF DISABILITY. I GOT 20 SECONDS LEFT IN THE TANK TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THINK AHEAD, MY FRIENDS. KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING, WHEN, THE AVAILABILITY OF HELP, BEFORE YOU GO. ENOUGH SAID DO NOT BE A COLLEGE FRAT ON A DATE AND WALK INTO A BIKER BAR IN ARIZONA. OK? THANKS DAMIAN.
V
Than it sounds like you definitely would want to check out the guide Damian is giving out for free. Just click here (http://pwc2.com/myfreeguide) and enter the email you want the guide to be sent to.
Thanks for visiting my blog and have a nice day.
I feel like a pacifist version of V above. For much of my life I felt some confidence, not by exhaustive martial arts practice, but by being ‘aware’ of my situation (which includes sensing where not to go, and when safe areas become risky. If you go to sleazy bars until 2am who really is asking for trouble?). I’m small but strong, wrestled enough to have quick instincts and a few escape moves. Still, now being 65, both weaker and less flexible, concerns grow over a real ability to thwart some sort of violent attack.
The crux I see as a mistaken notion about what your mission is – is it to “better” the attacker, is it to keep him from future attacks (i.e. are you the judge, jury, warden/executioner)? The only solid arguable right is to survive – by escape, first and foremost, by defensive actions only if necessary, and only to the point that escape then is available, by lethal action only as a last resort when every other avenue is closed to you. First choice weapons for violent attackers, knives or guns, may be poor defensive choices – stabbing or cutting may inflict a slowly lethal wound that gives others lots of time to kill you, without disarming or disabling your attacker. Guns also, and they add a legal +/- 0/1 where you may appear the aggressor by simply carrying or shooting an unarmed assailant, or innocent by mistake.
Sticks/batons/mace may offer better quick disabling strategies that look non-lethal to authorities, while giving you a chance to flee, rather than engage. Any practical martial arts-based program must emphasize escape as the primary goal, and all actions need to facilitate that, and nothing beyond that. Escape, call authorities. Live to not fight another day.
Agreed, awareness and avoidance are key. Escape is a priority and the foundation of what the Self Defense Co teaches. However, we realize we might not always be able to escape a determined attacker, so training is done to allow us to knock out our assailant.
You’re right, the goal is not to kill or injure a determined assailant, the goal is to cause him unconsciousness since by definition, determined assailant = escape not being an option.
Even at your age, the methods taught by the Self Defense Co will increase your odds of coming out alive against an attacker who is more determined than the average jerk or mugger.
At last, sooemne comes up with the “right” answer!
You Guys have a lot to learn, I read some of the posts and they all bad mouth TFT training. There is one thing you really need to keep in mind and that is the fact that you do not need to know any system but you do need to know the points that hurt and disable a human. You also need to be willing to hurt or kill that other person. If you can not do that then no matter what system you use you will fail.
SAB
former USMC
I think we all agree and know instinctively what targets are going to be effective. But you would never say if you had to use a firearm in self defense, “I’ll just make a head shot.” Why? Because under the stress of being in genuine fear of serious bodily injury, it’s only practical to aim for center of mass (at least initially). Under the worst circumstances, you might not even line up your sights and have to point shoot. Same thing with unarmed combat.
Also, there are proactive tactics and reactive tactics. In a reactive situation, you need to focus on general target areas: above the shoulders and below the waist. TFT is based on SCARS. Jerry Peterson’s SCARS revolved around essentially sentry removal. In the context of a warzone (Vietnam), your mindset more clearly revolves around destroying everything in sight. In contrast, when you go about your everyday life, being able to differentiate friend and foe isn’t nearly as clear and you certainly don’t walk around looking for people to attack. This is why you can’t directly apply a purely offensive military-based system to the context of either civilian self defense or police defensive tactics. This is what sets apart the Self Defense Co.
Hardly a neutral report. An affiliate of Ross who was disowned by the whole Cestari people. And for Cestari he was average in his best days. You might realize that operational experience is more important than anything else. To that end what you will find at combat-judo.com is unmatched.
Regards, Al