Note: This article is a continuation of last month’s article on the Red, Green, Grey, and Blue Zones model for self-defense training.
A Lie-To-Children is defined as “a phrase that describes a simplified explanation of technical or complex subjects as a teaching method for children and laypeople.”
There are four main categories of self-defense training. Almost all self-defense training can be described by one or a combination of them.
Three of them can be thought of as Lies-To-Children, only one of them is not.
The first two of these have the positive effect of helping students deal with low level violence that is unlikely to escalate into high level violence. But this type of training doesn’t provide its students with the means to differentiate between potential low and high level violence. And the means to avoid and deal with high level violence.
The third focuses on high level violence, but it also doesn’t provide the means to differentiate between low and high level violence. It also doesn’t provide knowledge on how to avoid and deal with the aftermath of violence.
Only the fourth deals with the multiple aspects of avoiding a variety of levels of violence, differentiating between the levels, dealing with the levels, and the resulting aftermath.
Fortunately, Lies-To-Children can be used as starting points. The provide a basic, but flawed understanding that can be reworked and expanded into deeper understanding.
The Four Categories
- Empowerment Based Self-Defense is really about giving people permission to physically fight back (reversing their passive social conditioning). It uses the person’s natural capabilities which is encouraged through Green Zone training.
It can be identified by its use of positive feedback for all self-defense actions regardless of how ineffective the actions actually would be against a determined attacker. The goal is to make the student feel “empowered”.
What it doesn’t do is:
- Give students the knowledge to recognize, avoid, and assess danger. (Grey Zone).
- Give them the actual physical skills to deal with a serious assault. (Red Zone)
- Give them an understanding of the aftermath of violence (Blue Zone).
2. Martial Arts Based Self-Defense is about developing physical skills and spiritual qualities to deal with violence through Green Zone training.
It can be identified by its use of repetitive physical training of “fighting” techniques to build mastery. This is commonly (incorrectly) thought of as “muscle memory”.
What it doesn’t do is.
- Give students the knowledge to recognize, avoid, and assess danger. (Grey Zone).
- Give them the actual physical skills to deal with high level violence. (Red Zone).
- Give them an understanding of the aftermath of violence (Blue Zone)
3. Combat Based Self-Defense is about focusing on relatively rare situations of high level violence and the use of lethal force usually done through Green Zone training.
This type of training can typically be identified by its kill or be killed attitude for all levels of violence for civilians.
In the best case, this type of training provides the student the means to deal with limited types of high level violence. In the worst case, it provides only the illusion of having the means to deal with high level violence.
In both cases, what it doesn’t do is.
- Give students the knowledge to recognize, avoid, and assess danger. (Grey Zone).
- Give them the means to deal with low level violence. (Usually Green Zone)
- Give them an understanding of the aftermath of violence (Blue Zone)
These first three categories have much in common and a few differences. Their approaches are different. But in many respects they all end up in the same place.
What “stalled” means
What the above types of training do is to provide a starting point for future comprehensive self-defense training. But only if the student is willing to recognize the stalled nature of his or her current training. Stalled training is incomplete training that no longer advances. There are flaws and gaps in it. For students to move forward, they must acknowledge they are stalled and be open to expanding upon their current knowledge and training system.
This training can be thought of as a foundation that can be built upon. But only after certain aspects of it are removed and rebuilt.
- Comprehensive Self-Defense training that is not a stalled Lie-To-Children is made up of the understanding of:
- Recognizing, Avoiding, and Assessing all levels of violence. (Grey Zone)
- Dealing with the legal, ethical, and other societal aftermath of violence. (Blue Zone)
- Dealing with high level violence, the Fear Response, and other associated behavioral issues. (Red Zone)
- Dealing with low level violence, not escalating it into high level violence, the associated behavioral issues, and more. (Green Zone)
The above areas can also be described by Rory Miller’s 7 Aspects of Self-Defense, the Hand of Self-defense training as described by Marc MacYoung, and the prevention, intervention, and mitigation of aspects of my 5D’s of Self-defense. It really doesn’t matter what model you use, also long as all the elements are included.