Self-defense is a curious branch of the martial arts world. Although there are doubtless a lot of great instructors out there, with lots of real-world experience, there are also a lot of charlatans, teaching moves and techniques that can get people hurt.
Check this one out, from the international women’s magazine Marie Claire. The teacher is a New York-based fitness instructor and Life Coach Lena ‘Lee’ Marti. It’s captioned “Knowing how to defend yourself can save your life. Share this with all the women you know.”
This is, ironically, a good way to end your life, not save it. These techniques have so little applicability that it’s impossible any of the instructors ever tried it. Not as in never tried it on the street, but as in never tried it in on the mat against anyone offering even partial resistance, never mind trying to injure you.
Some random YouTuber tried it, and has this to say: “I’ve tried these on my 6ft 1 partner, whose built like a house. I’m a tiny 5ft 2in, and I’ve got NO CHANCE.”
3-4 pro MMA fighter Ramsey ‘Danger’ Dewey actually tried out these women’s self-defense techniques using a very slight degree of resistance. This is what happened.
As longtime UFC color commentator and podcaster extraordinaire, Joe Rogan explains, in martial arts, you want to use the stuff that works on trained killers. As previously stated, although there are definitely some legitimate self-defense instructors out there, you can’t go wrong with what works in MMA. Martial arts like jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai are also great places to start.