Why Complicated Self Defence Fails in Real Life
If you are attacked in real life, your brain will not politely wait while you remember that cool move you learned at training.
It will throw you straight into survival mode. Your heart will pound, your hands will shake, and your mind will lock onto one thing – getting out of danger.
The problem is that complicated self defence techniques do not fit into that reality.
What Really Happens in an Attack
Real attacks are fast, messy and unpredictable. You will not be standing on a mat, squaring off with a partner who follows the “rules” you trained for.
Instead, you might be grabbed from behind, shoved into a wall, or caught completely by surprise. Your body reacts instantly:
- Heart racing
- Breathing quickening
- Adrenaline flooding your system
- Focus narrowing on the threat in front of you
This natural reaction helps you survive, but it also wipes out your ability to remember complex moves or sequences.
Why Complicated Moves Fail
When you are stressed, you lose fine motor control. Small, exact movements — like tricky joint locks, precision strikes, or long combinations — become clumsy or impossible. You also experience tunnel vision, so you might not even notice another threat coming from the side.
The more steps a technique has, the greater the chance it will fail when you need it most.
What Works Instead
The answer is simple: gross motor skills. These are big, powerful movements that your body can still perform even when you are terrified.
- Pushing hard to create space
- Driving forward to break a grip
- Delivering one or two strong strikes to open an escape route
They are easy to remember, quick to use, and adaptable to different situations.
More Than Just Physical Skills
Self defence is also about mindset and awareness.
- Awareness helps you spot danger early, giving you options before it gets physical.
- Mindset gives you the confidence to take immediate action without hesitation.
When combined with simple, powerful movements, these elements give you the highest chance of surviving a violent situation.
The Bottom Line
In a real life attack you will not have the luxury of time or the clarity of thought to pull off complicated moves. You will only have seconds to act, and what you do in those seconds must be simple, direct and effective.
Because when it comes to survival, simple is not basic. Simple is smart.
