Best Self Defense DVD Instructionals

Real-world street fighting can be unpredictable. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to control the situation you’re put into. Someone may get physical with you for many reasons. Whether it’s a drunken tough guy arguing with you or a mugger looking to steal your wallet, it’s best to train your mind and body to deal with these threats. It’s especially important to learn self-defense if you live in a dangerous neighborhood that tends to have more frequent violence. 

Fortunately, there are self-defense DVDs that can help you prepare for these life-threatening scenarios. Many martial art forms teach techniques and real-world application to self-defense. Common applications are escaping headlocks, disarming your opponent, and pinning them to prevent further attacks.

Below we have reviewed some of the best self defense instructional videos available today.

Combatives and Street Jiu-Jitsu by Dan “The Wolf Man” Theodore 

Dan “the Wolf Man” Theodore has quite an illustrious resume having high-level experience in MMA, grappling, stunt work, and holds black belts in various disciplines. His unique skill set and perspective helps you to thoroughly prepare for any street defense. 

Street fights can be incredibly unpredictable since anything can happen. You could be fighting a bigger and stronger attacker, or maybe you’re getting choked by another person. This comprehensive four-part series teaches you a variety of strikes and defenses to survive and beat your attacker. The idea is to learn the concepts taught from the DVD and add them to your combative toolbox. Depending on your situation, you may use them as you see fit. 

We like how the course teaches you techniques on how to strike your opponents in vulnerable areas. For example, groin kicks, backhand slaps, shoulder strikes, throat strikes, sucker punches, and forearm snappers. The course is incredibly comprehensive and easy to understand for beginners. It’ll teach you all the moves needed for any real-world self-defense. 

Highlights: 

• Learn self-defense techniques with real-world application 
• Suitable for all levels of fighters
• Build confidence to defend yourself in any scenario 

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Untangled: How to Disengage from Conflict by Eli Knight & Jared Jessup

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a form of martial arts to learn when defending yourself against chokes and grabs. Eli Knight and Jared Jessup are world-class BJJ fighters holding black belts in the sport and learning from the legendary Royce Gracie. 

Fighting against bigger and stronger attacks is quite common in street fights. Attackers look for “weaker” looking prey to pounce on and take advantage of. Jiu-Jitsu is the perfect martial arts form to leverage the size of bigger fighters and use it to your advantage. The idea is to take the battle from the floor to the ground and then limit your opponent’s attacking options. 

In this DVD series, you learn dozens of defenses to protect yourself and disengage from the fight. We like how there the entire DVD is sequential. Eli and Jared take you step-by-step and break down exactly how to move from one position to the next. It starts with getting close and using various sweeps, such as a dummy sweep, to bring your opponent down. Then you advance to various headlocks, chokes, and disengagement techniques. 

Highlights: 

• Discover techniques to defend yourself against all common attacks
• Taught by two black-belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu masters 
• Takes on a jiu-jitsu style approach to self-defense 

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Krav Maga For Everyone: How to Disarm Attackers by Rodrigo Artilheiro

Rodrigo Artilheiro is a master in the ground game and has earned black belts in many disciplines such as Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and Wrestling. His resume speaks for himself as a seven-time Brazilian wrestling national champion and 2015 ADCC submission fighting champion. 

Unfortunately, many attackers come armed with weapons such as guns or knives. Rodrigo takes a heavy grappling approach to disarm the attacker’s weapon and remove potential variables from the situation. 

We like how in-depth Rodrigo goes into every possible scenario of disarming a weapon. Most self-defense DVD’s only include one or two videos on the topic. You learn how to react in all kinds of scenarios such as hostage situations, disarming from multiple positions, dealing with knife threats, and even disarming in various handicap situations. This DVD offers a full four-part series on disarming that’ll give you the confidence to react efficiently in these life-altering situations. 

Highlights: 

• Takes a well-rounded approach of Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Krav Maga 
• Learn how to disarm your opponent’s guns or other weapons 
• Covers grappling techniques to eliminate unpredictable situations 

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Comprehensive Street Self Defense by Chad Lyman

Chad Lyman is one of the most sought after self-defense trainers in the U.S. For 20 years, he has been training police officers and military personnel in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. He’s an instructor for many reputable organizations such as Excel Defense Studio, Xtreme Couture, and Progressive F.O.R.C.E. Concepts Team. 

Street fights can be a frightening and life-threatening situation. However, luckily most street fighters are skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is highly effective in these scenarios because grappling puts you back in control. Chad teaches you close range moves such as takedowns and submissions. 

The DVD includes four series that cover setting a clinch, takedowns, submissions, and grappling on the ground. We like Chad breaking down the moves position-by-position. He also teaches you the concept first, followed by the application. 

Highlights: 

• Learn from one of the nation’s leaders in military hand-to-hand combat training 
• Covers how to safely disarm attackers 
• Comprehensive close combat techniques to defend yourself 

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Police Self Defense Tactics For The Street by Jay Wadsworth 

Jad Wadsworth is a self-defense tactical genius. He’s been a swat operator for eight years, along with having a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and being the director of defensive tactics for the New York Tactical Officers Association. 

Despite their title, unfortunately, most police officers don’t have the right martial arts techniques to defend themselves. They spend most of their time doing paperwork and patrolling the streets. This leaves officers vulnerable to getting hurt by guys who are stronger, bigger, and more aggressive. Jay has broken down his self-defense tactics into a science. 

In this DVD series, Jay teaches everything you need to know about defending yourself on the streets as a police officer. We like the maneuvers he teaches you, such as the double under takedown, push kick, and lateral head displacement. The lateral head displacement allows you to control your attacker’s body and get to put their hands behind their backs. 

Highlights: 

• Practical self-defense training system for police officers 
• Learn the proper techniques to defend yourself against bad guys 

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Street Fighting Secrets by Chad Lyman 

Chad Lyman is one of the nation’s leaders in defensive tactics. His system Code 4 Combat is utilized across the country to train police officers to defend themselves. Furthermore, he held a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was inducted into the Masters Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2012. 

When it comes to street fighting, the lines can be blurring in terms of what you can and cannot do. Some techniques and makeshift weapons can cross the line leading to an unintentional battery or other violent charges. Chad teaches you the right way to defend yourself. 

This four-part DVD series teaches everything you need to know about street fighting self-defense. We like how Chad shows you how to deal with multiple attackers and teaches you how to use various weapons to your advantage. Some of the content includes clinching, takedowns, tie-ups, fighting in stand-up positions, and using weapons. 

Highlights: 

• Discover life-saving principles and techniques for street fighting 
• Teaches you how to use legal weapons like pepper spray and tactical pens
• 4-part series of techniques to win or escape any street fight 

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense For Women by Deborah Gracie 

Deborah Gracie comes from a prestigious family of MMA fights and is a world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist. She has a black belt in this discipline and was runner up of the NAGA. 

Unfortunately, women are also a big target for street attacks. Whether it’s another woman or a male attacker, women need to know how to defend and disengage from the situation. Deborah shows you how you can systematically defend yourself against hair pulls, wrist grabs, chokes, and body slams. 

This three-part series goes in-depth on all of the techniques to defend yourself against common attacks. We like how Gracie talks in-depth about the mind of an attacker. She breaks down what their motives and thinking are with every attack. This allows you to predict their moves and defend yourself. 

Highlights: 

• Defend yourself against slaps; hair pulls, wrist grabs, and more
• Ideal for women who want to learn how to protect themselves 
• Covers how to defend against bigger, faster, and stronger opponents 

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Can you learn self-defense without actually fighting? 

You can learn self-defense without actually getting into a real fight. DVD instructionals are an excellent way to teach you concepts, drills, and fundamentals of self-defense moves to learn. This gives you a basic understanding of what to do in certain situations and how to execute certain maneuvers. 

However, there is an important distinction between self-defense and being in an actual fight. Learning to fight usually requires a sparring partner to practice on and getting into practice sessions at full speed. Ideally, you want to grab a friend who can be your sparring partner to practice with. 

Is it too late to learn self-defense?

It’s never too late to learn self-defense since it can be adapted to any person’s circumstance. No matter your age, body type, physical fitness, or technique level, you can always learn about taking care of yourself and defending yourself better. Even if you’re in a safe location, there is always a possibility of danger. Self-defense teaches you to react calmly when faced with dangerous situations and think on your feet. Knowing how to get out of harm’s way by getting out of a grip or hold and running is a crucial skill that everyone needs to learn. 

What’s the Easiest Self Defense to Learn? 

For those who don’t have experience with any martial arts, learning self-defense may seem daunting. However, martial arts can be learned in an online setting through instructional DVD’s. Self-defense can be learned at home, especially through shadow boxing or using equipment such as boxing gloves and heavy punching bags. The easiest self-defense techniques are getting out of chokeholds, wrist holds, kicking the attacker’s groin, poking their eyes, or punching them in vulnerable areas such as the jaw, nose, or throat. The best martial art forms to learn for self-defense are Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, and Boxing. 

Muay Thai is an excellent way to learn the right technique for punches, kicks, and knee strikes. Jiu-Jitsu is great for smaller individuals to combat against larger and stronger opponents. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu focuses on stand-up maneuvers and ground-fighting tactics. They may apply joint-lock manipulations, chokes, and single or double-leg takedowns. Krav Maga is centered around delivering damage fast, so the fight ends quickly. This martial art teaches you proper fighting stances, escaping headlocks, learning punches like a rear cross, uppercuts, and jabs, defense against headlocks, bear hugs and chokes and getting up when knocked down. Boxing is great for teaching proper stance and how to throw basic punches while remaining in balance.