A Personal Defense has a unique approach to self-defense that takes you as you are.  Even a  morbidly obese man may begin learning self-defense today with the abilities he has. 

Truth be told, those abilities are only going to increase if he also makes a commitment to getting into better shape. 

To succeed in any endeavor, you need to know why you are doing it.  What do you want from it?

When something is worth doing, there are going to be moments of challenge or even great difficulty.  At these times, having a "why" gives you something to cling to - to aim towards.

Often women interested in self-defense want to know what martial art is best for them.  Naturally, I think the concepts of Jeet Kune Do, as taught by A Personal Defense, are the answer.  I would like to explain that position, since I arrived at it in a way opposite from that which most seem to arrive at theirs.

After years of hearing people say their art was the answer, I started wondering what the question really was.  I realized it was usually something more like "What approach helps me reach my goals?"  Usually those goals, for men, include dominating bad guys and maybe winning in competitions.  For women, the goal was usually to feel more secure.

One of the fundamental concepts of Personal Defense is using one's strengths against an attacker's weaknesses.  When I was in high school, I had a friend named Lam.  Lam was from Vietnam, but his paternal grandparents were from Hong Kong, and he lived with them for a number of years while trying to secure passage to America.  Lam's grandfather taught him kung-fu, just as every chop-sockey movie ever made would lead you to expect.

I got this inquiry the other day:

"I am just wondering if my body is able to do all the 'self defense' moves, being I have a bad back and hip? What are your thoughts?"

This, by the way, from a woman in her thirties.  Hardly a woman with one foot in the grave.

Did you ever see a movie where the good guy is having a tough time, then someone hurts his buddy/wife/child and then he goes berserk and wins out after all?  I hate that.  There is a time to "go berserk" in a fight and there is a time to keep it under control.  If you are in a situation where your loved ones are in danger, you need to keep your head and make good choices.  People who just go crazy tend to do stupid things and get hurt.   That's my problem with movies like that.  If you turn it on at the wrong time, you make things worse.

Paul Vunak once shared this illustration with me to demonstrate the fallacy of "style vs. style" thinking.  Imagine 3 experienced fighters.  

Fighter A is a professional heavyweight boxer.
Fighter B is a jujitsu wrestler.
Fighter C is a karate man.

In fight 1, It's karate vs. boxing.  The boxer is agile and fit, but when he closes the distance, the karate man snaps a kick to his groin.  The boxer, unfamiliar with the low kick and unable to block it, drops his hands in agony.  The karate man is able to kick him in the head and run away.  Winner= Karateka.

I browse several martial arts and self-defense oriented forums, and this same question comes up literally daily.  Anyone interested in self-defense can find MILLIONS of web pages that say their "style" is the ultimate, the most practical, the coolest, the only true answer.

Bruce Lee realized two things: