We, as martial artists, are trained to never initiate a fight. Only use our skills for “good” and self-defense. Many martial arts styles have a code of conduct, or a set of tenets, or an oath to live by. “I shall never misuse Taekwondo”, “I shall be a champion of freedom and justice”, and “I will help build a more peaceful world” are a few lines from the Student Oath we recite at the beginning of each Taekwondo class in our school. With that said, we as martial artists should never be an attacker or predator out on the streets, right? Therefore, anyone who may attack you will obviously be an untrained attacker, correct?

Well, much like many of my previous Myths and Misconceptions excerpts, the answer depends on your definitions of the statement. In this case, the word, “untrained” needs to be defined before answering the question. Does untrained mean no skill? Does it mean lacking any ability to fight? Does it pertain to experience? Or maybe it means no formal training in martial arts? Depending on how we answer this question, our answer may change.

Another element we need to define is, “what kind of attacker”? Are we talking about a drunken bar patron that thinks you’re looking at his girl wrong? Or a street mugger? Maybe an intruder who’s broken into your house? A friend who you are arguing with, and harsh words have led to physical retaliations? You can even add a larger, overarching category to these and ask, “is this a social or asocial violent act”? Social meaning there is no intent to kill, only a display of violence to gain dominance or social ascension. Asocial meaning there is no social element to the violence. The attacker simply wants something from the violence they inflict and may have no problem killing. Again, how you define “attacker” may change the answer to this question.

I’m not going to break down every possible combination of these definitions and list out percentages that I am ill equipped to give. Instead, I’d like to give a few examples in order to help clear a path to answering whether or not an attacker is untrained or trained. First, however, is to define untrained or trained.

If “untrained” refers to fight training, then we have to assume most attackers are trained. Well trained, in fact. You don’t need to walk into a martial arts studio to be trained in fighting. A mugger on the street with no money who relies on attacking unsuspecting victims to get their money and valuables to obtain food and fuel their potential drug/alcohol addiction will become extremely efficient at striking you in a way that disables you quickly. They have the experience and the mental ability to deliver violence on a level that the average person knows nothing about. They are quite trained in this regard.

If “untrained” refers to formal martial arts training, then the likelihood of a trained attacker goes down, but not gone. A well-adjusted person who trains in martial arts is not as likely to attack you. But again, it’s still possible. Understand that everyone has their limits. Anyone can be escalated to violence. All it takes is the right justification. While the chances are not high, it’s still possible.

What this all brings us to is that we have to assume all attackers are trained in fighting. It just may not be the fighting you’re used to. This is where training in martial arts gets hazy. I know I’ve stated to students in the past that the average attacker is “untrained” when it comes to formal martial arts skills. They are not going to have crisp combinations with refined sweeps and throws or joint locks. But their ruthless use of violence doesn’t care. They will hit you when you are not expecting it and continue to do so until you have entered the SNS (sympathetic nervous system) in which your heart rate has gone so high that you may frozen in fear and unable to move. They grab your valuables while you focus on bleeding out and struggling to keep your consciousness.

However, when we practice defenses in class at the lower ranks, we have to train students for the sloppy attacks that have openings. These brief openings are usually our only chance of defending ourselves. Again, this is where explaining and training in self-defense gets extremely complicated. We have to train for any and all situations. But we can’t do it all on day one. There is a process in martial arts and self-defense training.

Most traditional martial arts styles learn to defend against their own style of attacks. Taekwondo has more focus on defending against kicks and strikes. A grappling art such as Hapkido or Jujutsu will have more focus on defending against grabbing attacks. And when we perform these attacks as the attacking partner, we do so with good technique that fits our style and how we’ve learned to throw such punches or grabs. Not necessarily throwing a punch like an angry drunken bar fly.

When I discuss the types of attacks to a beginner student, I state that the most likely initial attack will be an unbalanced right arm haymaker towards your head. Note, this isn’t necessarily true as we again must define “attacker”. But in the scope of what we are training at the time, this is a safe bet for the initial physical attack. The point is, teaching a new student how to defend against a sucker punch to the back of the head or an overwhelming bum rush of flying fists, isn’t productive. Teaching a new student how to defend against an untrained – as in not formally trained in martial arts – is the best starting position.

Can you see how complicated this can all get when trying to define whether or not an attacker is untrained? Don’t worry, I’m going to simplify.

While an asocial violent attacker may not be formally trained in martial arts, it doesn’t matter. They are well trained and conditioned for violence and making sure you don’t know what hit you until after the attack is over. The likelihood of defending yourself against this type of attacker is not high. You must practice prevention and awareness and knowing not to carry large stacks of cash and valuables on you while in a situation where you feel this scenario may be likely.

The times when your martial arts skills can be used, are usually during conflicts where de-escalation attempts have failed, and you know a fight is brewing. In these scenarios, the attacker is probably not well trained in a formal martial art. However, you can’t make that assumption. That assumption can lead you to a beat down. Keep in mind that person may have a weapon. And a weapon in an untrained attackers’ hands is still a deadly weapon.

Therefore, assuming any attacker is untrained – in any definition – is a mistake and dangerous assumption. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And know that just because someone may not have formal martial arts training doesn’t mean they are not dangerous. With that said, training to defend against all of these scenarios is complicated. Which is why learning physical self-defense is an extremely long endeavor that never stops. The best course of action is to make sure you understand prevention, awareness, and de-escalation techniques while slowly building your physical defenses.