Do You Need Martial Arts? CCW Training for Self Defense 

Go check to see if your gun and light combination is available at www.werkz.com

You’ve used that line in the intro before, “if you carry a gun and don’t know how to wrestle, you just brought a gun for the other guy”. I heard that and started training two years ago. Wise words

throwing the plastic pistol into the wrestling practice changed everything and you can really see how useless the weapon is without grappling skills

"Pop quiz, Hotshot!" That was the best spontaneous demo of why grappling is necessary for firearm carriers ever. Kudos Mike! Great thinking. And the fact it turned out exactly like you expected confirms your theory. Superb!

That Pop Quiz at the end was GOLDEN. Demonstrated every truth you spoke this video and motivated me to get to training too! Kudos good sir, and thank you

The only self-defence mindset you need is living your life like Icy Mike is going to come bursting into the room, yelling "Pop quiz, hotshot."

Icy Mike is the only guy that is still dangerous while wearing a Super Mario shirt! Him and Chuck Norris! LOL

It’s true - there are a bunch of folks in the gun community that are way out of shape and don’t train grappling or striking. Let’s normalize fitness and combat sports training with marksmanship training.

I like how “cowboy style” keeps proving to be the most effective style of fighting. Wrestling plus some sound fundamental striking, sprinkle some dirty techniques on top, while carrying a gun and generally not being a big dumb dumb

9:28 Mike went to another place for a literal instant and caught himself immediately. Wild 🤣

Glad you did a video on this subject, Mike. It's a real problem among the CCW crowd. Wrestling and carrying were made for each other. Craig Douglas has also opened many eyes on the matter.

I’ve experienced this no less than twice while doing martial arts. First time there was a guy that came to the dojo I went to at the time that eventually offered to teach boxing. My response: “I know Kung Fu, I don’t need boxing, I’ll just keep him back with my kicks.” I then proceeded to get my ass kicked by the dude who did boxing. Then with BJJ. Not having learned my lesson the first time I stubbornly said “I don’t need to learn BJJ, I’ll just keep him back and he won’t be able to take me down.” I then got my ass kicked by a BJJ white belt. Moral of the story? You’re not protected by your “justs.” You always have something to learn.

Such great timing with this video. I'm in a Facebook group called Bullshit Martial Arts and some guy shared a video of Craig Hanaumi doing weapon retention practice and he along with a few others were saying everything you talked about at the start. None of them could process that maybe, just maybe, the other guy could come at you unexpectedly and get a hand on your weapon before you can get into position to shoot.

I live in hongkong, a place where guns are illegal, but i still agree with Mike that distance control doesn't necessarily mean create distance, sometimes you have to be close to be safe

Yeah I tried to grapple with some of my range guys and they said thats gay meanwhile I tossed all of them and took their guns. 😮

0:53 there’s the saying! Love, I’ve been using it to your credit

You are getting better and better at making videos… Super entertaining AND educational. Hard to Hurt is definitely one of my favourite channels on RU-vid by this point. Basically only come on here to watch you and the rest of your friends who also have martial arts channels. Also, seems like there’s some weird and interesting psychology behind people first practicing martial arts. “The noise” is a really niche topic that I wouldn’t expect to be the topic of conversation but it’s these kind of things that make you so captivating to watch. 👊

This is so right on point.... loving every minute of it. 16 years practiced and conditioned judoka and gun fu. If your gonna carry it you best be able to keep it.

With all the footage out there i'm surprised Icy Mike has to say these things. From police body cam to security cameras, time and time again it shows that you have to be able to fight, to be able to retain and use a weapon in the middle of someone *attacking* you. And I mean yeah, guns are extremely effective at what they do. But they cannot do everything for you 🤷🏾‍♂️

The noise is real. And it's serious, a life changing moment. But I'll never not laugh. Not in a mean way, just in a "welcome to the club, you're one of us now" way.

This is beautiful. I'm a "gun guy" but also a grappler! This is so true! It's rare that the gun community and the combat sports merge. Non of my gun guy friends train and very few of the guys at my gym are gun guys.

It was the hump n bump then the "pop quiz, hot shots" that got me

Man I’m learning so much from this channel. I really didn’t know shit when I thought I was the shit.

This might be the most useful video you have ever made. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, because I have been rolling the same problem around in my head for the last six months. I’ve been training in martial arts for years, and six months ago I decided to get a compact firearm for concealed carry. Maybe this is weird, but the gun made me feel LESS SAFE, probably because I lack training in weapon retention and grappling, and I wondered if all was doing was carrying the means of my own demise. Welp, this video cleared that up! I signed up for Jiu-Jitsu classes three months ago. That is going well, considering that I am getting smashed three or four times a week. The really funny thing is that I thought I knew how to fight before taking a Jiu-Jitsu class. Anyway, thanks for teaching me, and the gun is going into the locker for a while. I might reconsider the matter after earning a blue belt.

love your philosophy and style of allowing your student to not hold back and try to retrieve your weapon- getting to the back is great but i think that if you tie up the attacker’s hands while facing him (as you did) and incorporate a trip with a shove first , you’ll get the best advantage as most people don’t know how to fall , especially on their own back- in akido-jujitsu style , you learn how to fall without cracking your skull on the pavement or injuring your lower back- i subscribed after the first minute of your video btw

Most important thing to remember about self defense in general, as soon as you think you've fully learened to properly defend yourself, you already failed. It's a constant learning/training process. You can't prepare for every scenario, but constantly learning, and training will prepare you for a hell of a lot more than "I'm a good shot, come at me bro"

Gun guys without any grappling are basically just loot drops.

The guy just taking mike's phone mid grapple. But being nice enough to put it in his pocket so it doesn't fall and break.

Range practice is not particularly useful if you can not get your weapon out in a timely manner. I try to focus on quick draw and being able to put a few rounds in a small space as quickly as possible. Also the fear of my weapon being taken away from me is a very real concern. I try to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, as I see people who do open carry as the first target I would go for if I had bad intentions. I am glad you are making this video and will look into your online courses for further self protection resources.

Thanks. I’m 54 and been carrying for 20 365 & last month I just started a gym with JJ and Wrestling. Can wait for the next few months to grow!

That was great stuff, Mike. The improv at the end was so practical. Kind of reminded me of the Pink Panther movies where Cato was always popping out of nowhere trying to mess up the inspector's day.

Things that needed to be said. Thanks Mike.

Woof, gonna hurt a lot of feelings with this one 😅

I just had a conversation about this with my cousin yesterday. I’m going to show him this video.

That ending was amazing, changed their game up immediately.

I love this . People don't understand how important this is. All these guys at the range say "yeah I'm a master of CLICK POW!" ... Right

Video was worth it just for him throwing in the gun at the end with the two guys that were grappling. Everything he was just talkin about was just proving right there within like 20.... I am so pinning this video for future classes.... Amazing stuff

Great example of why force on force matters! Big shout out to Werkz! Great people! great products! great company!

phone snatch was slick

Love the Mario shirt. Interesting how you talk about your experience as a cop, with guys reaching for a weapon whilst entangled. It reminds me of being in a sword bind. You can feel when someone disengages quicker than you can see them disengage.

4:24 you talking about having to get inside is one of the applications of the basic lowering and raising the hands in the first part of almost every Tai Chi form in existence.

Agree! I've been doing Korean wrestling since last fall and it has brought me many good things. I think (any kind of) body wrestling should be done by everyone serious about fighting and self defense. It was really interesting to see in your video how the trainees were doing with the red gun in the end when you suddenly threw it at them. Good video!

He got the phone mission accomplished if he didn’t get shot.😂😂😂

always enjoy the humor and the education combination of your videos; always educating w/out disrespecting or attacking people, im sure some people feel attacked but its mostly people who ego is in denial or hasnt been exposed to certain truths.. im not a great martial artist at all; but i often tell people who havent trained or sparred, they operate on a confidence that is completely out of line w/the reality of what they can actually do...and being introduced to that reality for the first time in a REAL situation is literally the worst thing that cld happen... anyways appreciate your willingness to share your experience and realy appreciate how much u care about the well being of others

This was a great video. I always get frustrated when people are just saying “get a gun”. Without training it just increases your chances to getting killed. Not counting any accidents or successful suicide attempts when having a gun in the house.

The last one minute of this video was an elegant proof of concept and very entertaining. Well done sir.

My firearms "coach" John McPhee is ALWAYS talking about learning how to fight and wrestle. It's a must!

I'm a gun guy who served as an MP in the military and is smart and experienced enough to know that I need more than just my gun so I'm training kickboxing and have wrestling experience from decades ago. The gun is a last resort tactic.

Oh my God Mike, you nailed that sound perfectly 😂 and its always sweet music to my ears each time it happens because then comes the choice: continue to live in "guns solve everything" fantasy land, or suck it up do the hard things

You are by far one of the best coaches out there.

We trained with water guns, get wet, got shot. The dynamics change when people are trying to shoot you while you're focused on the gun rather than what's coming out of it.

Another good thing about a light: if it extends beyond the muzzle/frame, it gives your semi auto stand off capability. You don’t have to worry about taking your gun out of battery if you touch it to his body.

I lost it when he said"he identifies as a sheep dog"

This... is the video that sold me on grappling. Thank you.

I loved at the end when you tossed the gun to the guys sparring and not expecting it.

To hear "POP QUIZ" and have a training gun land on you while you're rolling sounds like an RKM specific experience 😂😂😂

Perfect Mike! Thank you for this - this is so damn critical. I've been doing defensive firearm training for a few years now. Not as easy as it looks. Also - to add to this - PLEASE discuss Center Axis Relock as you next topic. Would love to see your take on that.

Would love to see you a do a video on "wrestling guys" that carry guns. As in, the complete opposite; borderline 0 practical gun training but proficient in wrestling. Biggest mistakes/problems a novice shooter would run into assuming they /can/ grapple?

Love the reality checks you hand out...

Great video Mike!! I am an aspiring gun guy and I want to work in my grappling skills because of you.

"Stalling's not winning, its just losing more slowly." Damn, that was a nugget right there.

I can't say enough just how right Mike is.

Guy tried to take my gun. Facts. It happens close up. He had a knife. He made the noise. He is no longer with us.

Dude, what you said at ~1:00 about guns and knives. "ugh, I'm being accosted." Very good video.

I'm a gun guy and I am 61 years old. I've never had anyone wrestle my gun out of my hands and I can fight with knife/empty hand/stick/several other improvised weapons. I still practice and use the technique of shooting from retention.

One of my favorite MACP drills was standing 15-20 feet apart and trying to draw a pistol on someone before they bumrushed you. FAR more often than not they closed the distance before you could draw and bring that weapon to bear on them. Only thing that worked was taking a BIG step back when drawing your weapon and even then it was about 50/50.

The thing at the end was brilliant!

Holy shyt Mike those were some smooth transitions. Is this from some sort of grappling classes you took or is this taught in self defense classes. Thank you for the answer!

Point taken. I carry everywhere and have never wrestled. I should probably work on that. John Lovell has a pretty good video about this subject too.

Probably the best video you have ever made! Well done!

The phone lift in the middle of the fight was hilarious. Great video guys!!

Best video I’ve seen you do yet. Love the realism and sincerity.

Werkz are great hoksters! I absolutely recommend them! Also, as a gun guy, I also teach grappling with a firearm and that people need to learn to fight if they're also going to carry a pistol. Good video.

I love your content Mike, but seriously, how do the cops not get called on you constantly when you’re out in the parking lot?

it's crazy how much grappling with weapons alters the entire exchange. We do it sometimes (i'd like to do it more honestly) in hapkido, last time we did it we started in guard, with the armed person in guard. Once I was able to get the practice gun and I just tossed it across the room (obviously there was no one that was gonna get hit with it) lol it was funny.

Hey Mike, gotta tell Werks to build tuckable IWB holsters. Gotta be church friendly.

very good point. I would need grappling skill before I ever carry on the street.

"B-b-b-ut....I bought a gun so I wouldn't have to learn how to fight!"

THANK YOU! I’ve been saying this for years to tactitards. You carry appendix, I carry 4 o’clock so I have the option of creating space with my left left hand.

Wonderful video. Your content is inspiring me to get some matt time of my own.

The whole Pop quiz hotshots and grappling sequence at the end is a great ad for bjj in general please make it into a short

What a fucking great video. Great advice and great real time examples. I laughed so hard when you threw the BJJ guys a gun.

Amen. Also, if you see a weapon, say a knife you are likely to get cut or stabbed. Grappling always happens.

THANK YOU!!!!!! I've had this argument for years. Gun guys think that that you don't need any type of CQC or grappling skills coupled with weapons training....this goes for knife/baton guys too! I'm a knife/baton guy myself, but I also understand, especially from my military training......you still need grappling/striking skills. If these guys did their homework, they'd find that a long history of Infrantry Soldiers to Spec-Ops (WWII-Afghan/Iraq Wars) trained in Judo/Jiu Jutsu techniques, boxing, wrestling...etc...but I can go on. Thanks for this refreshing video sir

Icy Mike, did the thrust of freedom

that was f*cking great when he threw the gun at the two guys on the mat. "It changes the game" more true words.

I knew the two noises he was talking about as soon as he mentioned it.

I have a werkz grip for my knife, love it.

The get off the X spin was beautiful

I love that you call out the trolls right off the bat! 😂 I need to start doing this as well. ✊

That casual catch!

Amazing, great tips Mike. In the UK, chances of having guns involved are slim but still possible, issue is, us good guys won't be carrying ANYTHING, but the bad guys will. So gotta know something to defend it!

That last drill had me dying. Good stuff Icy Mike.

Harsh truths. Awesome video Mike.

Love your stuff brother it’s realistic and awesome.

Appendix position is my favorite CCW holster position. Lighting fast and with such as a Glock 43, SIG 365, or S&W J frame Centennial .38, one can carry a fairly powerful 9mm/.38 Spl. that hols 5-11 shots (my 43 has a Taran Tactical 1 shot extension.) Shooting from the retention or belt level allows you to draw and shoot in 3/4ths of a second at close quarters or less. And Appendix position is very easy to defend if one tries to grab it. Sure one needs some H2H... for in many cases lethal force is not necessary. And knowing you have a very effective handgun setup and you have trained with it weekly makes it a very good SD setup. Oh, and did I mention I live in Texas? In Texas EVERYONE has a gun... and we have lots of shoot ranges that allow you to draw and shoot.

I've been waiting for Icy Mike to talk about this for a while 😂😂🔥🔥🔥

Also if a gun armed good guy shoots an unarmed bad guy in self defense, let us know how that worked out after years in court and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, plus the fear of revenge from the bad guy's family for the rest of your life. "Pop quiz hot shot." I love it.

I've only just realised, is Icy Mike's gym next to a pre-school? This is where he films all the grown men playing with toy guns and weapon vs fake skull cracking videos lmao

"We die together, homie" Naw we always knew Icy Mike was a menace 😂