Scenario Training

When it comes to self-defense, scenario training is an important tool in regards to making your training three-dimensional. Scenario training adds in mental/emotional factors which are vital in being able to recall important concepts/techniques in a real world situation. Scenario Training is training in which the student is put into a situation very closely resembling a real life violent attack. It can mimic any type of real world attack such as a sucker punch, ambush, multiple attackers, haymakers, knife thrusts, club attacks, etc. It is still just “training” but it is as close as it can get without actually being in the specific scenario.

It is one thing to learn and practice an uppercut, a shin kick, or a groin strike in a setting that is calm, predetermined and expected. Yet it is quite another to do so in an unstable setting in which you do not know what to expect. This type of training gives an emotional “unknown” to the training which in the long run will help keep you calm, thinking on the spot and prepared, for an eventual unknown in the real world.

The important factors in scenario training are stress, adrenaline, fear, the unknown, and all the emotional reactions that don’t usually accompany training in a controlled environment in which everything is expected. Fear is an important feeling to consider as it can cause anyone to freeze in any given situation. By dealing with fear in your self-defense training you will be helping to reinforce a no freeze reaction if you are ever caught in a real encounter that requires an immediate reaction.

If your goal is to learn how to defend yourself in a real situation, you need to include scenario training. The more closely you mimic a real situation, the better your chances of overcoming one if and when it happens. There are no second chances and you can’t afford to make mistakes when it counts. Make your mistakes in the dojo so you will make none on the street.