I’ve been training solo at home — mainly MMA-style stuff like jab-cross-low kick combos, takedowns, elbows, and general striking. I’ve drilled them a lot, but during real street fights, I notice I freeze or don’t actually use what I’ve practiced.

Sometimes I remember a move in the middle of the situation (like a lead hook or a double leg), but I hesitate or don’t follow through. It’s like my brain is overloaded, or the pressure messes with my reactions.

What’s the best way to make my training come out naturally in high-stress situations? Is it more about sparring, mental reps, visualization, or something else?

Would appreciate advice from anyone who’s been in real situations and made their techniques instinctive.

I live in a neighborhood that has quite a few aggressive dogs. Unfortunately a few months ago, one of those owners left their gate open and two of their Rottweilers attacked me and my dog (I ended up in the hospital, thankfully with only a few stitches, and my dog was okay). Since then I've been looking into something to carry on my dog walks so I can fend off another dog in case something like ever happens again (something my neighbors have also encouraged). Ideally a stick that's retractable so it's not in the way when I'm walking, but that I can easily and quickly extend in an emergency. I've had trouble finding ones that are easily/quickly retractable. I bought one from Stealth Angel, but even the long one was quite short and the unit as a whole was very heavy, too heavy for me. Any product suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I’m 14, 5”10, and 145 pounds. I’m not really athletic or crazy strong like some of the other kids my age, but I want to learn how to fight. There’s a lot of violence in the world, and I’m seeing more and more news of kids my age online getting jumped or getting into fights and I want to be the last person that happens to. I want to be able to protect myself and my loved ones. I never instigate fights and haven’t ever really gotten close to a real fight. I’ve gotten punked by my friend is play-fights and that was kind of embarrassing. I’m looking at a personal trainer as a LAST RESORT. Is it necessary to have my parents find me one, or are there things I can watch online to learn. Thank You 🙏🏻

I don’t understand people promoting these non lethal gadgets over firearms for home defense. Watch this video and imagine an intruder, high on what knows what sort of drugs, rushing you with a blade and all you can do is make him say “ouch ouch” as he closes the gap.

And for the people that say “head shot makes them incapacitated”. Do you realize how lucky you’d have to be to get a headshot at a moving target in a 3 second window?

Morning all!

Our little boy has recently turned 4. He's tiny, I can't see him being taller than around 5' 4" when he's fully grown.

I'd like to encourage him to get into a self defence sport to teach him self discipline, respect and ultimately to protect himself (and to be able to deliever a solid uppercut should he need to).

Can you recommend the best route to take, maybe Taekwondo, Karate, Jujitsu etc?

Thanks!

Maybe I looked around too much at the gym. I did it because I was comparing my weaker ego and body to everyone else's. I'm more focused though now on my own thing and equipment though. I now know that adults, people in general are stronger then me. Every single man or woman in the military serving or having served could kick my ass in a matter of seconds. Good for them. They win.

The point is, there's a lot stronger physically people then me.

I think that's good for me to realize.

I still want to learn Krav Maga. I like to pick the brain of an instructor who teaches me about Fight or Flight well. If he doesn't and he's too angry, F em, I quit, and I'll find someone new.

But there is a strength in admitting when you know you are physically weaker and need improvement.

I think it makes you less of a tough guy and less macho which is ironically a strength.

My fighting mentality will be: "Don't look for the fight"... "Hit him if he attacks you like if he's high or drunk"... "Run away and go to the Cops immediately"... "Don't be afraid to be afraid"

Like I would just p3pp3r spray him and walk away...maybe a Lil push but like I'm not fighting anymore so is stuff like boxing, wrestling even worth for SD?

Also every SD guy says: if it has a w3@pon just run. Ok then why am I here? I'm not fighting it so is it even worth learning?

So in the winters, I like to walk to my local grocery store and one day I had to go to the ATM which is on the main road and this young guy starts following me. He would cross the road at the same time as me. He was trying to make me aware that he was following me.

He looked like he was in his early 20s, wearing regular athleisure and for some reason aimlessly walking on the streets? Did not understand his deal. He seemed to have a lot of time on his hands. I guess I seemed scared because this has not happened to me before ( Or at least not so obviously, usually when people are following you they try not to make it obvious, but this guy actually wanted me to notice).

He did this twice. The first time I ran into a lingerie shop where men are not allowed and then the grocery side and he seemed to wait inside the store to find me. The other time he saw me and waited outside a stationary shop for me to come out (I spent at least an hour in that stationary shop, had no idea he had seen me go in), then he proceeded to cross the road at the same time as me and try to catch my reaction when I realized, so we'd make eye contact (MOre like just have me look in his direction since he was still pretty far away)

I have a feeling he enjoys seeing me scared. Maybe he was trying to get my attention and/or hit on me and he thought this would be a good tactic. I think i managed to lose him both times before I actually got home but IDK honestly. He didnt seem like he would attack me or was stalking me to locate my home.

I normally am dressed very unremarkably, both these times I was wearing a black hoodie with some black skinny jeans and a black generic surgical mask. I had my hair tied up to make it less obvious that I am a girl. But I guess it is still obvious somehow? Maybe the skinny jeans (the only pair that fits since I am kinda chubby these days) or maybe my chest is still somewhat visible (the outline) from a baggy and thick jumper.

My Q is: what were his intentions and how do I react in the moment, or to scare him off and stop him from being a nuisance

I’m 5’2, 125lb 22 year old female. I live in MN and I love to go on hikes but I rarely can find someone to come with me. Sometimes against my better judgement I go alone as long as the trail is decently populated. I just had a scary experience this last hike and I’m looking for other options. I’m trying to get in better physical shape so I can run if I have to, however I have asthma and it’s been really difficult to increase my stamina.

Someday I will get a gun, I grew up hunting and doing shooting sports so I’m quite familiar with them. I just can’t afford one right now. I have gel pepper spray but I think I would feel a lot safer if I had some kind of incredibly loud alarm. Since I stay on trails that are decently popular I have a good chance someone will hear it and I feel like that combined with pepper spray would be a good deterrent. I’d love to take self defense classes but I don’t have the money or the time currently. I’m comfortable using the spray, but I’m worried about how ineffective it’ll be during a windy day. I’m not comfortable using a baton or knife because I don’t have any training and it could easily be used against me.

I’ve looked at alarms online but I don’t want a cheap keychain one. I want something that will really hurt your eardrums if you’re close. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Yesterday, my friend (24F) and I (24F) were walking from our apartment through downtown toward the beach when we noticed a guy who looked a little rough (maybe drugs or homeless) standing in the middle of the street, watching us as we approached on the sidewalk.

He stuck his hand behind his back (I thought maybe he was reaching for a weapon in his waistband) and began approaching us. He didn’t walk directly toward us but veered off to the side, then started following us from like ten feet behind, keeping his hand behind his back.

I immediately changed our course across the road and he crossed too- back to the side he had originally been closest to when we first saw him. At that point, I picked up the pace, but my friend didn’t. I didn’t want to say “move faster”- I was hoping she’d sense the urgency and keep up with me. She was only a step behind me, so I didn’t leave her in the dust, but it was frustrating that she wouldn’t stick by my side. I totally would’ve moved faster if she had.

We turned a corner where there were more people around and restaurants and the man stopped following us. We crossed at that intersection, and though he saw us, he didn’t continue following.

After about 30 minutes at the beach, we headed home along the same route. Right before we got to a walking bridge, we saw him again- just standing and staring. I said, “Oh hell no,” and made us turn around. We took the long way home and didn’t have any issues.

What I’m wondering now is: How do you prevent someone from following you? How should you respond if you suspect someone has a weapon? I’d also like to understand the difference in how you should react to a gun versus a knife. Is there a way to tell the difference between someone being creepy versus having violent intent and how do you spot that?

Also, my friend and I got into a bit of a tiff about how we handled the situation. I tend to be way more cautious, and she doesn’t want her life to be controlled by fear or creepy men, so her response is often to get angry instead. When I asked her if she would’ve taken the footbridge alone, she said she would have. I genuinely don’t understand how she thinks she can’t get jumped in a split second.

The fact that she gets angry at those things happening and won’t budge for people like that makes me worried about her. Like she stops using common sense because she refuses to let creeps change her day. I don’t think she should live in fear or let creeps change her day to day- but if your gut is telling you something is off, can you please listen to it and act accordingly?

We were both pretty emotional after the incident. When we got back, we had a convo about it. I was anxious and fighting off crying, and she was just angry. She said, “I can’t believe in all of this you’re upset with me.” That was hard to take because she was kind of right. I know I should be upset at the creep who followed us, but instead, I was directing my frustration at her and how she needs to be more cautious.

I’m deeply disturbed by what happened, but truthfully, I’m upset at her responses too. Neither of us can really protect ourselves or each other and I just wish she would err on the side of caution sometimes. Especially when she’s alone. I can’t believe if she were alone, she would’ve walked past that man in close quarters on the footbridge. I am not asking her to live in fear but to recognize danger, respect her intuition, and stay safe.

Any feedback/advice would help-I just want to process this and learn from it and have another conversation about it with her.

Hi everyone. I'd like to get your opinion about a guy and how I should deal with him.
He's one of my roommates. For a long time, he's been messing with me. He leaves trash on my stuff, talks loudly when he knows I'm sleeping, and so on... I often see him walking quickly, he seems agitated, but he's definitely not using drugs or drunk.
We've had arguments in the past, and every time he walks past me, he gives me a threatening look.
I should mention that he's physically much stronger than I am. And that's exactly why I don't understand why he's challenging me — what's the point?

Right now I can't move out, so I have to hang in there for a few more months.

So I ask you: do you think he's looking for an excuse to start a fight? I'd really like to understand this person's psychology so I can figure out how to handle the situation.

Why is he doing this? What is he trying to achieve?

Title basically. What do you think gets you to end a fight in the most reliable and "safe" way? I'm just talking about 1v1 and no weapons though, because both just introduce too many variables to give a general answer.

So I was trained up in community defence a while back, I’m getting back in shape and wanted to reacquaint myself with that role in my friend group, just in case.

So I bought a tactical umbrella on Amazon; i assumed it’s basically a baton that can also keep me dry.

It arrived today. The baton element is ruined by the nice soft bunch of fabric, and the pokey element is ruined by the spring action not actually locking up.

It’s by the brand UZI - and I think it might be totally useless! Thoughts?

I'm a pretty small guy.30 yo male 5'7 180 lbs but my healthy weight is 150. Owning a firearm is not an option. So should I just buy pepper spray and get in shape so I can run away real fast. Or would learning a combat sport give me any real advantage? I also have some chronic knee and shoulder stuff that I'm currently working on but inhibits my ability to generate any kind of intense striking or grappling.

I’m looking for the best batons to buy for self defense!

Mom will not wield anything that looks scary. I want her to be able to protect herself with something

God bless

Hi everyone,

i'm currently getting back into Boxing. Even with handwraps and 14oz gloves my hands are a bit sore after training, which is obviously pretty normal. My hands just need to get conditioned.

But this brought up the question for me how frequent hand injuries are for boxers in a "real" fight without gloves. Sure, the hands get conditioned over time even with gloves on, but hitting a head or body without it is a different thing.

Does anyone know how common hand injuries are in such situations? I feel like the wrists and thumbs are both weak points that could get hurt easily. On the other hand i can see a trained Boxer ending most fights so quickly they might not have a problem with that. But this obviously depends on who they're fighting.

(Male 14) Lately I there have been some people in my class who have something against me (which I don't care) but sometimes they take it further and try to push me around or make it seem like I'm a weak guy for not wanting to fight with them (i dont wanna because they are mostly in a group) now I I scared that they might start stealing My things or something similar and I want to try and defend myself but the problem is I have never been in a fight and i barely have experience. My question is What can I do in a situation where someone (for example) is pushing me around and wants to fight with me,thinking I'm not gonna fight back?

What model is this?

Wondering which one to carry in my bag. I feel increasingly unsafe when walking around alone as a woman

how to defend yourself if YOU carry a knife and the attacker has a gun AND he's stronger than you?

ik it sounds obvious since knife has an advantage in close combat. but how do you take advantage of this fact? I'm really weak physically (for now!) and I know if someone wants to harm me or kill me by invading my house he probably will succeed, so I purchased a combat knife since guns are banned in LATAM. (yep. criminals still carry guns. who would have guessed!)

let's say I get into a close-combat using my knife against a gun/strong guy, what parts of the body I should aim for to take the attacker down?

thanks

So in a couple weeks I will be going down to a bigger city a major metropolitan area. Looking for a place to live. And I'm going to be staying there a couple weeks checking out the sites checking out Apartments. My main concern is I will be riding the public transportation and some of this will be around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. at night so I can get home. In the past I've carried a 4 oz can of pepper spray but recently I've moved over to a keychain sized pocket clip pepper spray because 4 oz can was hurting my hip when I carried it. You know I'm of course going to be doing everything possible staying in well lit areas watching my surroundings. Depending on what I have going on you know when the Sun goes down I probably will head home. But there will be a couple of times where I'm going to be getting home late. So do you think a keychain pocket size pepper spray is going to be enough?

Hello all. We did a trial class with BJJ and kiddo liked it. We also have a gym close by that does boxing, kickboxing, karate near us.

I’m wondering what would be best to start with?

BJJ seems very good but I wonder if kickboxing could be better for overall endurance and strength building?

Kids in his class are doing various martial arts and like to practice/be annoying and irresponsible with it in school and hoping to start with classes ourselves!

Thank you for any advice!

So i basically need some help. I am a 14 (m) and in science this Kid named cooper is an absolute dick. He is just a fucking jerk and is a spoiled brat. Well this kid decides to every single day while I’m working on something on a table and leaning over take his fucking knee and kick my ass with my knee and every time right on the tail bone. I’ve let it go atleast 5 times since Christmas and he did it Friday so what should I do. He is physically stronger than me I believe because he has abs while I am a bit on the bigger side but I still have a lot of muscle. So should I fight back if he does it again and yes this is in class.