When it comes to the question of skills every man should possess, there are a couple of things that first come to mind. A man must protect his loved ones, and he can only do that if he is knowledgeable in self-defense and first aid.
You should only use this knowledge in combination with all of the previously learned things from the Self-Improvement Roadmap. If you haven’t already, you should first go through the post above before moving on with reading. You should never use these skills for any purpose other than self-defense.
This post is structured into 5 main parts: Grappling, Striking, Weapons, First aid and Survival. We will cover each one, give you an overview of what you should do to learn these skills and give reasoning behind why they are so important.
Grappling fundamentals
Grappling forms the foundation of a fighter. If there are no weapons involved in a fight, there are only two things you can do. Grapple or strike. In the video below, you will learn about the basics of grappling, and a simple system to follow.
After that, I’ve written a summary of everything you should know about grappling and given you links to video guides for further learning.
Here John has outlined a four-point system for the person on top to move from:
- Taking an opponent to the ground (Single Leg; Double Leg; Bodylock sweeps; Judo takedowns)
- Moving past their legs (Guard passing system)
- Gaining and maintaining controlling pins (System for maintaining top control)
- Securing victory through striking, joint locks, or strangulations (RNC; Guillotine; Darce and Anaconda; Americana; Kimura)
Here John has outlined a two-point system for the person on the bottom to move from:
- We are taken to the floor and retain our legs between ourselves and our opponent (systematic approach to escapes)
- We successfully apply a joint lock or strangulation to our opponent from underneath them or sweep them and get to the top position (armbar, triangle, and omoplata system; sweeps from bottom; Turtle Position)
One final note I will leave you is this: If you wish to learn the absolute minimum and most effective amount of grappling needed for MMA you should focus on two things:
This way you will be able to mitigate your opponent’s attacks from both standing and on the ground, plus you will be able to initiate takedowns if you choose to do so.
Your goal should be to reach the skill level of a BJJ blue belt with the main focus being wrestling. You want to become dominant in the top position and be capable of controlling your opponent both standing and on the floor. You should yourself become difficult to control and have a small but deadly arsenal of submissions that soothe your style.
Additional resources
- Chris Paines’ How to Defend Everything
- John Danaher’s GO FURTHER FASTER on the cheap
- John Danaher’s ENTER THE SYSTEM on the cheap
- Wrestling for BJJ
- Greco-Roman Wrestling for BJJ Part 1, Part 2
- Standing Arm/Wrist Locks Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Striking fundamentals
We’ve looked at grappling, now is the time to learn striking. A fight begins on your feet and you must be capable of standing your ground until somebody is taken down.
Below you will find a video explaining the basics of striking, and some additional resources for more in-depth topics such as footwork, distance, and timing.
Footwork: Basic footwork
- Defense: Basic defense drilling, basic MMA defense
- Distance: Distance management
- Philly Shell for MMA: Part 1, Part 2
- Alex Pereira’s signature strikes: Left hook and Leg kick
Before moving on to weapons, here is a video that will serve as an overview of the fighting style you should look to implement. As a final note, at the end of every training session consider doing 100 kicks and 3 minutes of punching the heavy bag without gloves in order to condition your shins and knuckles.
Your goal is to become comfortable taking punches, throwing punches, and just in general sparring with an opponent. You should be the one dictating the tempo and controlling your opponent’s movement, no matter the size of the person you are facing.
Weapons
- Knife: Basic knife defense
- Guns:
Additional resources
For anyone interested in learning more about weapons training, consider dedicating 1-2 months towards:
- Filipino martial arts (Eskrima, Kali, Arnis)
- Krav Maga.
It is a great way to incorporate weapons into your already established MMA skillset. One additional thing to point out is that you should consider buying a multitool in the likes of Victorinox Compact or Victorinox Delux Tinker.
The reason why is their versatility. They are a great survival, first aid, and self-defense tool that is not only used on a daily basis, but could be a difference maker in a life-threatening situation. And there are no downsides since they are relatively cheap, small, and lightweight. For the exact model you should buy, do your own reasearch on the internet.
First Aid
You never know when the situation may arise and your medical knowledge could be the difference-maker between life and death.
For this exact reason, you must become knowledgeable in medical care. To find the right course provider for you, check out local options that you have in your country or city. One thing to keep in mind is that you should finish both a basic and a wilderness-specific first aid course. This is so you are as equipped as possible for any situation that you may come across, both in the city and the wilderness.
- Complete a basic first aid course
- Complete a wilderness first aid course
Survival
Learning outdoor survival skills prepares you for emergencies. Whether it’s knowing how to navigate without a GPS or administer first aid in the wild, these skills can be the difference between life and death when the unexpected occurs. Greater confidence in your own self-sufficiency, will also translate to other areas of your life. For these reasons complete a:
- 1-7 day survival and bushcraft course
- A basic navigation course
If you wish to go the advanced route, consider doing multiple survival courses in different conditions and seasons such as:
- summer/winter
- desert/mountain
- and so on
Finally, make sure to read the books 100 Deadly Skills, Escape the Wolf, The Rugged Life, 100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition, and How to Survive (Almost) Anything. They will teach you how to prepare and act in any kind of situation you may find yourself in. If you don’t have the time to read all of them, at least read the first two as you will learn most things about survival from the course you will be taking anyway.
Additional resources
Learning ethical hacking and OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) is crucial in today’s digital age as it empowers individuals to protect themselves from all kinds of digital threats. This is not for everyone as I am aware that there is always an option to go completely of the grid, but if you intend to use your phone and computer daily, then make sure to arm yourself with relevant knowledge.
- Information Security Foundations by HTB Academy
- Penetration Tester by HTB Academy
- OSINT Techniques by Michael Bazzell
If you find ethical hacking interesting, consider finishing all of the major job role paths available on the Hack The Box Academy. The following is the order in which I will be learning:
- Information Security Foundations
- SOC Analyst Prerequisites
- Penetration Tester
- Bug Bounty Hunter
- SOC Analyst
- Senior Web Penetration Tester
- Active Directory Penetration Tester
Conclusion
Once you master the skills we mentioned in this post, you will become a responsible male who is capable of protecting his family and loved ones.
Consider dedicating 8-12 months to MMA, Firearms, Survival, First Aid, and all other courses. Find a respectable and good MMA gym in your city and focus purely on it. Stop going to a separate weightlifting gym. Your focus should be on getting better at all of the above-mentioned skills we talked about, not on strength, endurance, or physique.
Dedicate a weekend for the Firearms course as it usually takes 2-4 days. After that, you can go to your local gun range to practice and have fun from time to time.
For the survival and first aid stuff, it depends on the course difficulty, but the previously mentioned 2-6 months is certainly more than enough for you to finish them.
There is no greater annoyance than wanting to help, but being utterly helpless in an emergency. But thanks to your dedication and hard work, the world has become just a little bit safer.