About Being Curious...Adding New Skills to Your Personal Defense Plan

When was the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone and tried your hand at a new form of personal defense? Yes, I know my audience here, and I don’t mean the last time you picked up a new firearm or tried the latest and greatest ammo. I mean really stepped outside the box and added something equally useful to your training routine.

There’s a certain sense of comfort in familiarity, but there’s also a definite level of confidence that can come from trying something new. When training for my personal defense, I find that exploring different avenues is important, even if the new personal defense skill isn’t always a perfect fit. Either I like it or I don’t. Either it’s for me or it isn’t. Or maybe only part of it works into my personal defense plan (PDP).

Firearms Plus

Why am I telling you this? I get the impression that a lot of firearms enthusiasts come to the PDN website for information, and rightfully so. PDN is one of my “go to” sites for answers to my firearms questions. But I’m the type of person who’s always wondering what else is out there that could benefit my PDP, and I’m hoping to encourage some of you to think in the same manner.

This year I put together a monthly program of classes called “Be Curious.” My intention is to have others experience new forms of training to see whether or not those methods are right for them. This year we’re exploring handguns, shotguns, boxing, Muay Thai, Kali, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Krav Maga, CrossFit, Tasers and pepper spray, and chess (yes, chess). Think of it as a buffet of learning for your PDP. If you like something, you can integrate it and get more training. If you don’t, discard it. Learning that you don’t like something is just as important as learning that you do.

Let’s tackle the big elephants in the room:

Cost doesn’t have to be a factor either. While weekly instruction on a consistent basis is optimal, let’s be real. If you’re just curious about something, lengthy school contracts with the possibility of a large financial commitment might not fit the bill. But maybe a couple of private lessons would give you enough of a feel to know if you would like to pursue it further. And ask the instructor to show you personal defense skills that are applicable in everyday life, not ones that are geared toward sport or tournament fighting.

After the private instruction (PI), go home and practice those personal defense skills for a while. Trees are free, and we all have them in our backyard or in a public park. They’re great for punching (with hand wraps or gloves), kicking (with shin guards) or practicing your blade techniques (with a bamboo stick, PVC pipe, weighted bar, or broomhandle). Get creative. If you find that you have an affinity for what you’ve just learned, start thinking about training on a more consistent basis, or schedule a couple of PI sessions each month.

Since time and money are no longer issues, you just need to figure out what you’d like to explore. What are your weaknesses? What is your body composition? Want to increase your speed or strength? What would complement your firearms training? Whatever it is, there’s something out there to make that skill set more effective.

• Chess: to increase my critical thinking ability and reinforce the roles of actions versus consequences.
• CrossFit: short bursts of physical activity that provide maximum benefit (And who knows, learning how to flip a tractor tire just might save my life someday!).
• Krav Maga: quick, practical moves always intrigue me.