Military fighting systems are quick, efficient, simple and get the job done. They are also completely illegal for personal use when it comes to civilian self defense. Keep in mind these no quarters systems were developed for wartime hand to hand combat in which there is no regard for human life, the only goal is to not be harmed. So why is this illegal in civilian self defense? Because the law is pretty clear when it comes to self defense, you can only do what is necessary to halt the attack, nothing more. So if a drunk in a bar takes a swing at you for looking at his girlfriend and you break his neck, you’re going to jail for quite some time. Can’t I learn the fighting system and just hold back if I need? If you’re highly trained then that is a possibility. However, you train your body to instinctively react without thought to perform these techniques, so for someone who isn’t highly trained, this can be dangerous.

I would like to point out three things on this subject. First, if you are attacked by someone who is attempting to kill you (especially when a weapon is involved), then the techniques in these fighting systems are legal. It will be determined that if you did not do sufficient damage to the attacker they would have killed you. The second point I would like to make is that some schools understand all of this and have adjusted these fighting systems for civilian use. Third, even non-lethal fighting systems implement extremely dangerous techniques that are illegal. The difference is that this is not the focus of most arts and the more lethal techniques are only taught to highly ranked practitioners.

More Myths and Misconceptions about Martial Arts

Part I – Martial Arts are all about Fighting

Part II – Sport vs. self-Defense

Part III – Size and Strength are of no importance in Martial Arts

Part IV – Horizontal Punch vs. Vertical Punch

Part V – Dim Mak (pressure points)

Part VI – Military fighting systems, such as Krav Maga, are the best self defense systems to be learned for self defense.

Part VII – My martial art is better than your martial art

Part VIII – The Hook punch is the most powerful punch you can throw