Self-Defense Training & the "False Sense of Security"

When you train in a combat sport like boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA, etc. - or more traditional martial arts like karate, jiu-jitsu, judo, tae kwon do, and plenty more - you are learning how to fight in a certain way. All styles have their own individual techniques and rules, but the idea is that you throw strikes to hurt an opponent and you defend strikes that would hurt you. 

Then there is self-defense in its purest form, as I have talked about before, which may involve the above-mentioned things (striking and defending) but the overarching goal is about survival by any means necessary with no “sport-like” competition aspect to it.

In all of these instances, there is a common notion that people like to express (especially online) which is that if you are training in a combat sport or self-defense technique, but the training is not good and/or your skills are not good, that you are being lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that you are better than you are. And that this is actually WORSE than if you have NO training at all.

It's a very powerful statement for someone to make. Not only are they better than you at this skill, but so much so that your own training is actually more harmful than good. And when it comes to stuff you read online in the comments section, many people are more than happy to try and express how they know more than everyone else. Everyone is an expert and needs you to know that.

The thing about the false sense of security, though, is that this claim can only apply if someone makes decisions to get into a fight and or not avoid a fight because of this training  That if, for instance, instead of avoiding putting themselves at risk or trying to diffuse a situation where someone wants to fight them, they welcome it by saying literally or figuratively, "come at me, bro!" because they feel so confident in their fighting stills. To me though, that is a terrible move to make in any situation.

No matter how well-trained or poorly-trained you are, you shouldn't be picking fights with anyone or putting yourself in unnecessary danger. Ever. Furthermore, you should do everything in your power to avoid getting into one of these situations. Most everyone would probably nod their heads in agreement with that statement, but I have seen plenty of people get into fights I think they could have avoided. Diffusing a situation where someone is acting aggressively towards you is a skill unto itself and I would much rather use that than any actual fighting skills. Remember always that even if we "win" the fight and come out unscathed, there can be legal and financial consequences, as well as other forms of retribution from the other person's side.

When it comes to self-defense, you can avoid many possible scenarios by doing things like locking your car doors as soon as you get in, paying attention when you are walking down the street (as opposed staring into a phone), trusting your gut instinct when you get a bad feeling about somebody, going into a place like a restaurant or a bar if you think you are being followed, etc. Having self-defense training should make you more aware of these things and more concerned about them, as opposed to just thinking you don't have to worry because you have some skills.

If any situation like that comes up and you can extract yourself from it, including just running away, that is the action that you should take. Doesn't matter how tough you are or how much training you have had. There should be no sense of security at all, false or otherwise.

Training consistently in self-defense techniques as well as any fighting system can save your life, for sure. It is a skill that everyone should have. I have written several posts about it, as well as my own philosophies

https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-tao-of-self-defense.html

https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2021/06/boxing-self-defense.html

https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2024/09/self-defense-class-faqs.html

Remember always, that nothing is 100%. The best form of self-defense will always be avoiding a bad situation where you could be hurt. The better you get at the technique, the more you understand this.

"Realistic" Combos

In boxing, there is literally an infinite amount of punch combinations. You could also throw any punch after any punch in any situation. Generally, the goal is hit a moving target- your opponent- that is not always standing in front of you. Your opponent is also almost always covered up in different ways, so you will try to hit them wherever is open in the least amount of time while leaving yourself open as little as possible.

That being said, there are certainly punches and combinations that are thrown far more often than others. They are simpler and efficient by nature. Since we don't have infinite time to practice infinite combinations, it makes sense that we would spend the most time practicing the more fundamental combos, as well as defending them too.

A lot of boxers and trainers refer to any combo that is not one of the more fundamental ones as "unrealistic." Or they will say that a seemingly strange, unorthodox combo "doesn't make sense." 

That description is incorrect though. When you start to break down fights between high-level boxers and figure out exactly what they are throwing, you will see a LOT of combos that many people would call unrealistic. And you will see them land successfully- particularly when finishing a fight. So, as they are thrown in a real match between skilled combatants and they are successful, it is objectively wrong to call them unrealistic. You can call them uncommon but not unrealistic.

Again, there are many, many combinations that are far more common than a jab-4 lead uppercuts-rear hook-rear uppercut but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try different things. and as I said, you should be able to throw any punch with good technique off of any other. It is important to practice this-  throwing and defending.

When boxers and trainers talk about unrealistic combos and combos that don't make sense, they are often referring to longer sequences of punches. This is because the likelihood of being able to throw more than 3-4 punches at a time without getting countered by your opponent is slim in many situations. But it can happen and does happen- just less often than simply more unorthodox combos being thrown. 

Practicing long combinations does have other value too. It helps you to flow between punches smoothly, as well as get more reps in chaining together different punches- provided of course that they are varied long combos. 

I think it can also function as somewhat of a stress test on your technique. It is one thing to throw a jab-cross on its own and try to make both strikes as perfect as possible, but throwing it along with more punches will really challenge you to maintain that solid form without everything just becoming punch mush. It keeps the brain switched on.

Varying the length of combos is also a good way to improve stamina. If you get stuck throwing 2-3 punch combos over and over again and get into a rhythm with it, your body will adapt accordingly. Then when it's time to try to finish off your opponent and throw a long flurry of strikes, your body isn't used to that gear shift and you are more likely to gas out sooner.

Along those lines but beyond the physical, it is very easy to become an "auto-pilot" boxer just throwing the same combos and combo lengths. Makes it harder to adapt when other strike opportunities present themselves. It also makes it easier for your opponent to predict what you are going to do.

This is why we like to vary things up at our club, as well as do those "Fight Like..." classes. It keeps us grounded in what strikes high-level boxers and kickboxers actually throw, as opposed to just writing off things as unrealistic. A strange thing I have noticed in the last 10 years is that even very experienced boxers, boxing trainers and boxing commentators, don't actually track what punches are thrown in a fight. Even Compubox just separates them individually as jabs or power punches (which is just anything other than a jab). So even people who seem to eat, sleep and breathe boxing - whose job it is to know as much about boxing as possible - don't seem to care to look closer. I will never understand this, myself, and would love for someone to explain to me why I'm wrong but as I write this in 2026, that day has yet to come.

In reality, no matter what any experienced person tries to tell you, there is no such thing as unrealistic combo. There are no combos that don't make sense either. Yes, there are combos that are much more commonly thrown than others, for sure, much more fundamental and good to learn but anything can work. Also, if you practice something, you can get better at it. So what might feel awkward for you to throw now can potentially get silky smooth with a lot of practice.