The real problem with self-defense techniques are when they work 

Self defense is indeed a legal term. It is also an admission of guilt with the caveat of necessity. This happened and I had no choice but to do that, to protect myself. The important part to pay attention to here is, "I had no choice". A man tries to stab you, you manage to avoid the knife and kick him in the groin, If the bad guy falls to his knees holding his groin, that's self defense if you then kick him on the head and he dies because of the kick, that's assault. Congratulations, you are now a criminal. When did you become a criminal? the moment you stopped the aggressor (on his knees, holding his groin) once you had stopped him you CONTINUED to attack him. Any police officer will arrest you for it. Any prosecutor will take you to trial for it and any jury will convict you. Self defense is a serious legal term. I suggest you pay for a couple of hours of an experienced criminal defense attorney's time and have them explain the concept to you. Spare yourself the horror of fighting for your freedom in a court room. The fun doesn't end there, say you go to trial and are found not guilty, well you may now have to worry about a civil trial for wrongful death with a much lower threshold of proof. Fun fun. The short point is, know what you are talking about when throwing the term self defense out there, your freedom and future prosperity depend on it. Oh, and remember that a trained fighter has a higher degree of responsibility in self defense situations because they are a "trained fighter".

I wish more people would talk about things like this. A friend of mine once put it perfectly, "doing something that's going to get you sent to prison for the next 10 years isn't effective self defense".

If anyone can explain why my phone started talking to me about halfway through this video, please let me know in the comments. I’m concerned about the AI robot uprising.

In conclusion: streetfight enthusiasts who practise non-competitive martial arts and claim their techniques are too dangerous for combat sports have it reversed: it's combat sports that are too dangerous for the streets. This is the best reversal I've seen in a while.

Happy birthday bro! 🥳 🎂 This video was spot-on. I’m legally trained Ramsey, and knowing the law has genuinely saved my ass several times in life (I’ve been formally interviewed by police after fighting, more than once) 😬 It’s all about reasonableness in the U.K., ‘reasonable force’. What’s reasonable force? It’s a level of force that’s reasonable in the circumstances. Someone swings a bat at you...you can pick up that tree branch next to you and swing it at them. Basically, there has to be an equivalence of force. They used to call it ‘bode of resentment’, but that’s kinda an outdated term now. A dude punched me first, and I basically hurt him pretty badly...but as soon as he said, “Alright, alright!” I stopped. Also, people hugely misunderstand what an assault actually is. There needn’t be ANY physical contact to your person. If you anticipate immediate and unlawful physical violence, you may launch a ‘pre-emptive strike’. Someone shouting aggressively in your face and gesticulating will suffice...but your strike cannot be unreasonable. This is also the standard (generally) in the U.S. too (since a lot of American law is based upon English common law). 🙏 *Edit* I know some smartass will talk about swinging a 🦇, but I meant a baseball bat (obviously 🤣🤦‍♂️).

I had to stop the video by 2:27 - sorry Ramsey, but you are way off on that claim. If there is a weapon on the ground and the person you have pinned is going for that weapon in order to kill you, you are still defending yourself. If there is reasonable cause to think the person you have pinned is bigger, stronger, and generally able to kill you if you don't neutralize them before they get out of that pin... you are still defending yourself. If you can claim that you were panicking after being attacked and acting out of instinct to preserve your life, you are still defending yourself. And even outside of those parameters, it is better to go to prison (where you can appeal your case again and again with strong footing in court for a self defense claim) than to die because you didn't do everything you could to survive an attacker. I have no idea who you chose not to single out (wasn't me), but I'd say they are more correct than you are here. It's definitely true that escalating a fight means you can't claim self defense. For example, typically you can't draw a gun on someone who hit you in the face but clearly isn't trying to kill you (let alone actually shoot them). In most places, you can't attack a burglar that has entered your home unless they initiate/threaten violence... and you definitely get in a lot of legal trouble if you attack a burglar who is actively fleeing from your home (if that can be proven; but why risk it). There are limits to a self defense claim. It's just that the line isn't anywhere near where you claim it is.

As a martial artist of 38 years plus, teaching both martial arts and self defence - YOU SIR... Are absolutely right.

"On the street's, there are no rules!" Folks, yes there are, they are these things called law's, the thing is that once a fight start's, in most cases rule's will not apply until afterwards, when you can be tried in court as Ramsey is detailing to you. So regardless of if what you're doing is effective and justified in the moment, the "Rule's" might not agree with you.

As someone who studied self defense for years, this video is 100% correct. It’s a shame that coach’s / trainers / practitioners like this catch so much flak from others.

Many of these self defense videos appeal to the power/revenge fantasy of people which are bereft of consequence. Been thinking of this topic often, coach. Thank you for covering this. 🙏🏼

The most successful "self defence" technique I ever used: A woman whom I'm going to guess had experience with meth was on the train with me, and said classic lets start a fight words: "What the f**k are you staring at?" and so I responded, 'Oh my gosh you just look so much like a friend of mine.' She was completely stunned for a moment and then said, 'Oh yeah? Ok? You look familiar too? Maybe we've seen each on the train, well have a nice day.' Not a single punch or elbow to the back of the head. Why aren't we teaching de-escalating situations first? (I mean, I kinda know, this is mostly a rhetorical question).

Best self-defense tactics imo: prevention, de-escalation, running away. I've been using these all my life, never been in street fights and only been robbed once when I was a kid. I find it very weird that a lot of the so-called "self-defense" videos don't focus on the "defense" part of fighting (distance management, blocking, head movement, footwork, takedown defense, grappling escapes), instead it's usually some supposed one magic move that supposedly wins every fight. Imo people who want to learn how to defend themselves should worry about learning the defense techniques mentioned above first, then worry about learning striking & submissions. Maybe that's a topic you could talk about in a future video.

Seeing Ramsey find out what Siri is is the pinnacle of serotonin

Comes back the the saying, a top gun pilot knows how to avoid a situation where he needs to use his top gun skills. No.1 rule of self defence is distance, the further away from a situation where violence is an option the more defended you are.

I once got tackled, i managed to turn it around took his back but he still had my arm so i hit him once in the back and got up to escape, i still got in trouble but not as much as i could have since it was justifiable under the laws where i was living at the time... still was fines to be paid

I know you have talked about this topic a lot, but this is probably the best and most concise way you have explained your meaning out of any of them. Good video.

Our coach actually makes us learn the self-defence laws here in Germany, including what tools are allowed and what isn't. And you're completely right, it's never simple and always complicated. In the end it's the in court's decision to decide was alright and what wasn't. And what confounds it even more is the fact that you as the defender can get unlucky and simply knock someone out, have them fall down on their head and die, and then you're in for a whole different ride with the law.

Ramsey, I really appreciate you explaining all of this even though you are probably tired of saying this in multiple videos every year. Before I trained bjj, I came from a traditional martial arts/reality based self defense kind of background before and I definitely was guilty of the "martial arts = self defense = fighting" fallacy that so many people fall into. While some people get angry or have an emotional reaction to realizing their understanding of martial arts is wrong/misguided, I feel I have benefitted greatly from your thoughts and explanations. In many ways, it has allowed me to appreciate martial arts more since each martial art can appreciated for what it is (IE its own unique rule set or practice methods) rather than having to judge all of them through this nonsense lens of "wiLL it wOrk In DA STReeTZ????" Keep up the great work and awesome videos!

So many things I don't understand about this as a 14yr or thereof TMA. IMO: 1. I reject that current, UFC, MMA etc doesn't account for about 95% or more of the variables of a one-on-one fight with somebody. 2. So many variables of techniques in Kungfu etc, illegal for MMA, but worked in a real-life situation. What if it was a home invasion with a guy with a gun and they were on drugs would not the jury be less sympathetic to the assailant's death/maiming using that illegal MMA technique? 3. Even in first world countries they don't publish the percentage of unsolved, rape, murder or whatever crimes - don't think your even going to necessarily get caught at all. I mean think about it people still do these things, they must be getting away with some reasonable percentage or else they'd be terrified to step-out-of-line. Heck, in my country they just solved a 40yr old murder case that was made famous by a journalist who made a very famous podcast. 40yrs. Pathetic. 4. I mean if you don't have a choice and you had to kill/maim a person; I'd rather them than me. I've' had to give mercy to an untrained opponent in a real-life situation before. But if I couldn't do something and they were going to kill a family member and had to do that then - I would almost certainly maim or kill them.

I have a strong suspicion that most of the people who are interested in learning what works in a "street fight" are what I like to call "martial LARPists" they LARP on RU-vid and sometimes in real life as badass Street fighters, despite never making an effort to go to a fight gym and learn the martial arts they LARP, hence all of the hostile Muay Thai elitists on the internet that most of the time can't even spell Muay Thai. The worst part being that many youtubers pander to this audience. It makes mixed martial arts look ridiculous from an outside perspective.

This is intensely important, and seldom discussed in ”self defense” forums. Thank you.

Sounds like "The Street" (i.e. a public area under legal jurisdiction) actually has the most rules.

I'm just going to admit that I am cosplaying when I train. I train hard in Muay Thai and NoGi Jiujitsu, but I'm really imaging myself going SS3 when I'm hitting the heavy bag (I know that Ramsey doesn't watch Japanese cartoons, but I hope he's heard of Dragon Ball Z) and I'm thinking of the Cell Saga when I'm doing exercises and especially when I'm working on shin conditioning. When I spar with anyone I am thinking about various boxing/MMA fights that I've seen; especially when it comes to sparring in the cage, when I have the opportunity to actually think of something other than the shin guard or glove flying towards my face! My go to for inspiration is Brue Lee and I love all things marital arts, but I also am fully aware that I will never use any techniques I've learned in "the streets". If a crack head jumps out of the bushes, I hope I'm wearing my running shoes that day so I can get some extra road work in! I usually don't hang out at places that are super aggressive so there's that. I will say that as a new subscriber I am very grateful for the instructional videos and points of view that Mr. Dewey makes. Happy birthday Sir!!

As you know, I'm a fundamentalist practitioner of Classical Chinese martial arts, and I agree with your entire video, including wondering why the phone talks back! 😁 I've had people over the years ask me to teach them self defense, and I've always told them to go to your local police station to learn the law for self defense, and to find out how people get into those situations in the first place. The sword and arrow Samurai and OK Corral Wild West days are over, self defense is knowing and following the law. It had nothing to do with martial arts, and I mean exactly that. NOTHING. My pet peeve is people asking why do I train with the 3 section staff or spear when it won't help me on the street. Idiots.

But... i thought streetfights were two dudes meeting at a place and agreeing on 3 round matches with fireballs and flying knees. I've been bamboozled

What’s your understanding about the recent death of Leandro Lo, 8 time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion after he was involved in an altercation with an off duty military police officer at a concert? Either way it’s a very tragic outcome, but there’s some interesting accounts of what happened circulating. I have been a student of a particular reality-based self defence system, and as part of my first grading we sat through a lecture that covered the specific laws around self-defence and assault in our state. One of the key points we were drilled on was this: that a key question you will be asked by the prosecution in a court of law is did you have the opportunity to leave before the situation escalated to becoming physically violent. Because if you did have the opportunity to leave before the first punch was thrown and you did not take that opportunity, that alone will weigh heavily against you before the jury. Almost all altercations are avoidable. It just takes one person to be humble and say sorry matey you’re right it was my mistake and back away. 9 times out of 10 nothing will come of it. It’s also vital that all young men especially learn the Rules of Stupid. Don’t go to stupid places at stupid hours with stupid people and do stupid things. If you follow the Rules of Stupid once again, 9 times out of 10 you’ll avoid trouble.

Your voice is perfect for overdubbing English dialogue onto kung fu films.

All jokes aside, I remember some of these scenarios discussed in my criminal law classes in college. One action leading to more lethal consequences could possibly cause the other person’s fatal demise.

As someone whose doing a series on self defense including dirty tactics, it's my biggest fear that someone will misuse the tech that I'm showcasing. Dislclaimers everywhere in the videos I've made thus far. It'd kill me to find someone decided "I remember that video from Scott, I'm going to poke this guy in the eye! That'll teach him to look at my girl!" The goal should always be to get away. The tech is ONLY to give you the opportunity to get away as quickly as possible as unharmed as possible. Too many people focused on "winning" a life threatening situation.

Self-defense is a legal term, but would you say that a lawyer who only knows the legal aspect of self-defense is capable of defending himself? I think it's a bit of a diservice to such a broad term to restrict it so much. The legal part is a subset of self-defense as a general term, in my opinion, as are/could be martial arts. And it's a bit of a stretch to say that in all cases, all over the globe, punching someone from back mount is not defending yourself. If the person has repeatedly stated that he/she would inflict damage on you if you let him loose, for example, then it becomes far more likely that you could claim self-defense, specially if you're against a jury (much more subjective) rather than a judge. I've seen cases where someone shot the aggressor 20+ times and still managed to legally claim self-defense successfully (inexperience + adrenaline + fear makes you literally overshoot).

Well, I was never in a really dangerous situation, but when I had a guy throw punches at me in school I deliberately backed up to move us from concrete to grass, then threw him and put him in a lock until he stopped. I did not and certainly do not want to risk the guy falling badly and breaking the base of his skull, for example. It's not only about you in such a situation, but also the other guy. That is unless someone has you cornered and a knife out or something similar. Reasonable force, indeed.

When i was a kid my father was a psychopath he had beaten for nothing and i become afraid of people and other kids beat me . But one day i said to myself i rather like to die than let somebody beat me without fight back ...i was 16 ans i had 5 fight than i became danger so just believe in yourself

As a self defense instructor in the US, I tell people that if anything ever happens dont talk to the police. Request a lawyer and thats it. You may be in the right, but you may talk and dig yourself a hole.

Hi Ramsey,happy B-day(late),I really like your channel and you seem to be a good person! Now,let´s be honest-the reason why SD always comes up is simple:Most people never fight in a ring or octagon,but many people need SD in their live !And where do MA´s come from ,way back then...SD !!! When you´re "back against the wall"or have to protect family/friends there´s NO CHOICE !!! And do you have time to think:"Oh,I might kill that guy..."NO !!! Sad but damn true ...!

Let’s also be clear, if a person enters into a self defense situation, specifically I get attacked, by another person attempting to hurt me, I then go beyond what a court of law would consider a reasonable stopping point, and the court of law decides my actions went “over the line” and I’m sent to jail. The question is “do I care if I’m safe, or if I survive but end up in jail?” Just to be clear, I’m on your side Ramsey, MMA is the greatest sport, and there is some crossover between MMA and street self defense. For those that focus on Street defense I think most of them think “if I survive is all that matters, if I go to jail it’s fine, because I’m the one still breathing”

People need to realize street fighting is not the same as getting attacked but still we do use the terms interchangeably but they are not the same animals.

So I had to look up the laws, and it's still not 100 certain, but, according to, The laws change often. IndexUtah CodeTitle 76Utah Criminal CodeChapter 2Principles of Criminal ResponsibilityPart 4Justification Excluding Criminal ResponsibilitySection 402Force in defense of person -- Forcible felony defined. (Effective 5/4/2022) (2)(a)An individual is justified in threatening or using force against another individual when and to the extent that the individual reasonably believes that force or a threat of force is necessary to defend the individual or another individual against the imminent use of unlawful force.(b)An individual is justified in using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury only if the individual reasonably believes that force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the individual or another individual as a result of imminent use of unlawful force, or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

"If you don't understand the law you don't understand self defense." That is a brilliant way to look at it and it's very true.

Happy Birthday Ramsey! I have a question, what's your thought on martial arts used for war instead? Either your being invaded or you need to go out there and stop some major threat. What would you try to learn and focus on before hand if you could to increase your chance of survival(assuming you had a decent martial art base already)?

As a baguazhang practitioner who's specific method was adapted to survive ambushes by a family of body guards, if I managed to get a guy belly down, I am moving myself and my loved ones AWAY from them. If it were a situation where I couldn't, as a man who doesn't want to kill if he doesn't have to, I would use an MMA-like strategy to incapacitate them because it works JUST AS WELL (especially since it is also just as life threatening to the person I would be beating in the face). The more I train and cross examine/cross train, the more these "in the streets" arguments become reductive to combat sports. They may fight under rulesets, but combat sports fighters are still killing machines that need only decide to kill if the moment called for it, in my opinion. Most importantly, they are practicing similar if not the same movements most *insert traditional martial arts here* train, and probably analyze it even more since they have to actually FIGHT regularly. And that's without thinking about the legal ramifications of beating a man to death in the street.

Ramsey I am a life long martial artist & I agree 99% with what you are saying. But I once got jumped by a Brooklyn street gang. Their leader started arguing with the guy standing next to me. His hand swung by six inches from my nose. I politely guided it away from his face & asked him not to do it again. When he immediately put his hand back in my face, I redirected him to where I had his wrist and he was off balance. Next thing I knew several of his buddies came up behind me and coldcocked me from 3/4 rear. Then I get swarmed, go to all fours and somebody behind me pulls my EDC from my belt. I had been receiving instruction in an iaido seminar from a Japanese sensei who was visiting & was a friend of my sensei. I instinctively did the iaido seated zazen draw move, bursting forward and upward. The guy in front of me figured I’d strike his jewels so he threw a low cross block. I went over it and struck his bladder til I touched spine. He went down hard & they all backed away cursing & split. Put word on the street I wanted my knife back or I’d find them one at a time. The next day my knife was returned to the bartender. Had my woman do the concussion protocols overnight then went to ER next day. Told doc I felt like I had lost because of my concussion. He told me I’d be queasy for a few weeks & heal completely within 3 months, but that the guy I struck would probably have to pee in a bag forever. 2 weeks later I went back and a different doc and he said I k had healed well for six weeks thinking the injury had happened in June instead of July. I would gladly have avoided or walked away from that but before I knew it it was one. The alternative was a handful of fingers in my eyes. So other than not going to a music venue on a holiday weekend, do you believe that was avoidable or that you would have responded differently leaning on a wall with a hard suddenly in my face. And don’t say pick better friends. I barely knew the guy next to me. Just curious if you think I had another option when a hand went into my face as the first sign of trouble other than the two guys discussing some deal of an indeterminate nature. One second I was minding my business next I get a hand in my face by accident twice then get jumped by 6-8 guys. Just curious about your thoughts after watching your video, which I 99% agree with.

Yup, phones are tracking devices that we willingly purchase. That's not theory. I agree, our first line of defense is don't be where the "bad guys" are! If they come to you? Then get away from them. It's exceptionally rare that one needs to go beyond that. Very, very rare. Fighting is stupid. Training is fun, but the actual application of violence is a nauseating intellectual exercise.

Very true. Its not condisdered 'self defense' if you have the clear option for escape instead of attacking. It was amazing how much info was relayed when I took my CCW class and signed up for self defense insurance coverage. Ultimately, the law is NOT on your side in issues of lethal selfdefense (for either accidental or in negligence). Good of you to share words of wisdom in depth!

Hey Ramsey. Back in the 90's a guy named Gavin de Becker authored a book entitled the gift of fear. It is a self defense book and some may say it's the best one ever. You have probably already read it but if you haven't and you have anything to do with addressing self defense I believe you should. The book does not explain any punching kicking or grappling techniques whatsoever. Instead it goes way beyond any kind of fighting methods and explains how to survive life or death situations at the core. It is an excellent read in my opinion and I am not aware of any self defense expert whatsoever that says different. If you read and like the book perhaps you could recommend it to your subscribers.

I don't think most people understand how easy it is to permanently injure or kill someone in a "street fight". I wound up spending 7 years in state prison so as you can imagine I saw, and rarely participated in, some fairly brutal fist fights. Even in there you could tell that some punches were pulled because they didn't come in with a murder charge so they'd rather not get one. Unless someone was literally fighting for their life, or fighting to end a life which did happen, fights went until there was that moment where you've beat the other guy into submission, with maybe a couple of light shots at the end to really drive the point home. Anybody talking about how'd they would do this technique or that move which could result in permanent damage or death probably haven't even been in am actual fight.

I train muay thai and jiu jitsu(but not mma) and unless I thought I might be facing more than one opponent I will almost for sure default to using jiu jitsu(minus chokes) in a street fight type situation and mostly to protect myself legally. In pretty much every country in the world if a person attacks me and I defend myself without causing any injuries to the other person I am almost certain to not have legal issues or if I do they shouldn't be serious legal issues. There are still risks like the very real risk that they hit their head on a curb or whatever during the take down but in general striking arts are going to cause more injuries by default. Obviously using jiu jitsu a person could seriously injure or kill someone but except in freak accident type situations they have to put in effort for that to happen. In striking arts, especially no rules striking arts with throat strikes, eye gouges, etc, the potential for serious life altering or life ending injuries is a very real risk. Outside of the potential criminal legal issues there are also civil legal issues and those civil issues could come up regardless of if the criminal case moves forward or not. In 2014 in San Francisco I was stabbed twice while stopping a crazy person from attacking another person over a water bottle. I got the knife away from the guy, got him in a full mount and elbowed him until I fractured his orbital bone and he ended up losing that eye. The prosecutor told me they were thinking about bringing charges against me but they never did. A few years later a lawyer friend of mine said the crazy guy could have possibly had a good civil case against me since the entire thing was on video and I obviously took it a lot further than was necessary when I had him in the mount.

There are several interviews about a one punch accidental killer on youtube. His friends got into a bar fight, he went to defend them, threw one punch that ended one guy's life and ruined his own. He spent years in prison and has to live with guilt forever. Highly recommend.

Learn the laws from a lawyer. How to effectively neutralize a physical threat, on the other hand, you should learn from someone who actually knows how to do that. Of course, there are places like California and Utah that have ass-backwards laws that tend to favor assailants. If you live in such a hellhole, my condolences.

Nice vid. I was suprised by US self defense law, like you can shoot them, but not choke them? btw in my country self defense should be somehow adequate, but there uld be a scenario when hitting back of head of attacker is OK, like you are in middle of nowwhere where you can not get to safety, in this case my guts say you need to KO attacker or obliterate his limbs and run so he s not able to continue, not to mention you do not know if the attacker is armed. And the most inportant thing Happy b-day.

As a security professional that does armed patrol and executive protection work, I dread ever having to use any of my weapons on or off duty, and so in addition to whatever company I happen to be working for's general liability insurance I also have my own self defense insurance that covers on and off duty incidents in order to win the "fight after the fight" and I brush up on state statute and local ordinances to keep myself as much in the legal white as possible. People need to familiarize themselves with the legal process.

The attempted murder charge is subject to the whims of a judge and prosecutor I was hit in the head multiple times with a hatchet and they only got aggravated assault, no deadly weapon charges, no attempted murder, just aggravated assault. 1 to 3 years. In the United States, at least of late, violent offenders do not get elongated sentences, for that matter neither do pedophiles. Believe it or not as opposed to say drug violations, for which some people are rotting away with life sentences. We definitely have our priorities straight here in the USA

99 percent of fights you can walk away from if you take your ego out of it stay sober keep your mind clear of violence and the fantasy of testing yourself. Fighting for real is awful unless your insane 🤷‍♂️

If you are ever in a real fight and you stop to think about how you are going to justify what you're about to do in court you are going to get killed or seriously injured. Bad advice Dewey. Go get in a real fight before you give advice about real fights.

Most violence is a grey area both morally and legally and the government often passes legislation that helps criminals more than their victims. I think it's common sense that the best way to respond to threats of violence is de-esculation but sometimes I'm sure people do find themselves in situations where their options are limited to prison time for self defence or getting murdered by someone. In which case what are you going to do when you've done the right thing pragmatically and the wrong thing legally? Suck it up I guess.

Ramsey, Several months ago you corrected me about something in regards to self defense and I humbly listened, I allowed your correction its proper place... your very informed and others should learn from you as well. Happy birthday by the way.

Everything in this video is correct . I have seen a lot of crazy stuff from various instructors , for example I know someone that said to his students that it's ok to use a knife for self defence as long as you cut and don't stab, because as he said if you cut you can do that 8n a manner to wear your opponent out from blood loss but by stabbing you try to kill ...... I mean , ppl are crazy , try to say to the police that you took a knife out for self defence and see what they will do to you.......

I mostly teach healing Chi Kung golden lite 🖐️ since 1968 dim make reversed

I currently live in one of the highest crime areas of America. There are stickers up all around my neighborhood exhorting residents to stop murdering each other so much. Even here, I've never felt like I was at serious risk of getting into a street fight. Basic conflict avoidance pretty much obviates that. Sometimes, but still relatively rarely, there are random shootings. Most of the time you can avoid those by not being involved in the kind of stupid stuff which people get shot over. I've taught kids who got in fights all the time, who were convinced that this sort of thing just happened to people. I watched them get into fights, tried to intervene where I could. It was all very, very avoidable. That's actually the only sort of circumstance where I've been faced with the prospect of getting into serious violence as an adult: stepping into other people's fights. I've stepped in to break up fights now and then, and that can be risky, but it's not as dangerous as nobody stopping the fight. I've been lucky enough that I haven't gotten badly hurt or had to hurt anyone else that way. But the few martial artists I've trained with who've discussed using their skills in serious violent encounters, that's how they ended up in them; not because they were attacked and needed to defend themselves, but because they found themselves in situations where they felt it necessary to defend someone else. Ironically, this is a type of situation which "self defense" instruction very rarely ever addresses.

In general, if you're thinking in terms of a 'fight', or 'winning', its not self-defense. Self-defense is *escape*

Happy birthday Ramsay hope you’re doing great! I wish you wellness and happiness! :))

Street fighting is bad of course, ego driven. Being attacked by 2 or more a bigger person, armed person when can't get out of situation is a situation where self defence is needed. Can't just freeze and get possibly killed. Need to react and once situation changed get out of it. You can't think to know what the situation will be though, anything can happen. Sometimes you must do anything you can to survive, can result in death. You must try your best and depending on how you find yourself in a situation determines how you'll react, what someone will do. Reasonable force can be used in an attack to survive. That may be judged and you must prove this I know. If fearful for your life or protecting a child, etc. too many variables until the situation happens. Thanks for the vid reply.

Excellent post Ramsey!! Happy birthday 🥳

If there was a good guy to begin with. Good call Coach!

I've been boxing for about 10 years, and doing judo for 5-6 years. And I've had 6 serious fights in my life. What happened was that I didn't get afraid, but I got deep fears about striking and causing some serious harm. Fortunately my judo kicked in by itself and I got out whole of all the situations without causing injuries.

I don’t think you’re qualified to be discussing street fights and self-defense scenarios you need to call Captain Krav Maga lol

An interesting question: can a submission ever be legal self-defense? Since you are in control while applying it the crime is no longer in progress. Even worse, you are actively preventing your attacker from leaving the confrontation. At the same time, letting go might put yourself in danger again

As someone that taught self defense for 5 years, and practiced many different combat arts over 20 years before that, I have frequently told every one of my students that if they are taking significant long lasting damage of any kind from any source then they are practicing bad self defense... the best self defense is not to be present when and/or where there is danger, the second best self defense is the utilization of certain techniques to significantly reduce or more preferably negate damage and/or danger to ALL parties present as much as possible. This is what makes a great self defense instructor worth their weight in gold... Because they'll teach you about exercise, driving, psychology, law, aging, and so much more that you can actually use daily in your everyday living. Even when a situation demands combative self defense technique it is extremely unlikely to be defending yourself or others in a street fight and far more likely to be defending yourself or others from a friend or family member that has become impaired as a result of substance abuse or in the case of a child utilizing such techniques a case of domestic abuse (because as you said it isn't what you know, it's what you can prove... most people accept that bad things happen but don't want to accept responsibility for not getting involved in putting a stop to some of those bad things so sadly there are many children that should and will learn self defense to protect themselves from their family members). To be honest I wish we didn't need self defense techniques, I wish we would appreciate legitimate self defense instructors more by learning what they were interested in teaching us, and I wish that we wouldn't be so quick to dismiss or diminish those that have been through such events in their lives that we respond to their pain with compassion more than criticism... in that order. But this world is a dangerous place, and we make it so... I won't ignore that fact (nor will I continue to try to change it, that's why I quit... we can afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month on alcohol and tobacco products, but can't afford to spend even minimum hourly wages on someone teaching us how to protect our backs from injury while lifting heavy objects... it's not the money, it's the lack of priority that made me quit... I got better ways of spending my time than to cater to that kind of stupidity).

First of all, thanks you for the video and happy birthday to you Mr Ramsey :) Your advices are wise. Here in France, self defense is pretty the same for decades and compares the attack to the self defense : For self defense to apply the attack against which you defend must be : - Unfair : the attacker as no justified reason to attack you like defending himself/herself/yourself (suicide attempts) or others or stopping you in the execution of a felony. Defending yourself against a police officer trying to arrest you is NOT self defense for example. - In progress : the attack is in progress ; if it's not, even if it stopped a few second ago, it's too late to strike back. - Real : the attack must be really dangerous (can inflict injuries) to you or others. If someone hit you with something that can not do harm, you can not strike back and injure that attacker. A punch IS a dangerous attack while someone throwing water at you is not. Then, for self defense to apply, the defense must be : - Necessary : you have no other choice than defending yourself or other ; if you don't act it's obvious that soemone is going to get injuried. - Simultaneous : the defense is set in the same time of the attack. If someone hits you and you block than you strike it's pretty the same time but if that person attacks you than backs off, you can't go after him/her and strike back ; it's no more self defense but revenge... which is an assault. - Proportional : if someone tries to hurt you or others you can use a defense proportional to the supposed damage the attacker can inflict. If someone wants to punch you and you're of equivalent strenght (adult vs adult, male vs male or female vs female etc..) you can't defend with a weapon. If someone obviously stronger punches you or if that person wants to kill you (using a weapon or is yelling "I'm going to kill you" for example), you can use a weapon. As you can figure from this, the acceptation of self defense by a court will mostly based on the interpretations of that court. Things are going to be very ugly for you if your attacker had no weapon and you had one, especially if you're seemingly in an equal or better physical shape than that aggressor. The thing that the court will especially look at is the intentions and state of mind of the persons involved. If the court feels your attacker(s) was/were determined to do harm your odds are good. Multiple attackers are always a good point for you too. Witnesses or video footage are game changers here. As such, as much as you can, try to look like the person who tries to calm others : open hands, cool voice (don't yell unless to call for help) and no insults. The legitimity of self defense can vary from country to country. Here in France, the idea is to discourage citizens to short circuit the police and as soon as the attacker is more injured than the defenser the self defense will be studied carefully.

Happy Birthday Ramsey!!!! Enjoy your videos!!

Great content, but your mic position looks like there is going to be bukkake

Phone intervention🤣 Happy birthday, Ramsey! Thanks for talking sense.

Check out the “untouchable boxer” video, unless you already have, the guy slips, bobs, weaves, etc. and doesn’t get hit, after watching it I would say this would be called the true classic self defense.

Happy Birthday! 🎂 Btw your phone is possessed. 😈

I've always understood that the 'self-defense' response legally needs to be proportional to the attack. However, this clinical definition assumes the 'defender' is clear-thinking & emotionally controlled after/during a possibly traumatizing experience. 🤔 Not that I'm disagreeing with the content here at all; when I was younger I used to be concerned about getting hurt in street situations, whereas now I'm more concerned about legal consequences, and exactly the scenario described near the end - KO someone who then hits the pavement & dies. 😖 Def prefer to avoid that.

The camera will help me!! That's my proof!!

Laws are RULES. As someone who had to run from gangs when young, I learned that the most important things about self defense in order were; 1. avoiding traps set to catch you. 2. minimizing engagement, in case there is more than one person coming to aide the assailant(s), you were initially trying to avoid. 3. successful full on engagement. 4. ultimate and successful disengagement and flight to safety. The longer you are engaged, the greater the chance of injury to yourself, hostile intervention, and injuring or killing the assailant. I know this because i was forced to defend myself against a goon that broke a long neck bottle on my head from behind, and then started swinging at my throat. While bleeding all over from head and hand from the bottle, I knocked the bottle from his hand, and then destroyed him, hitting followed by a body slam and by stomping his limbs. I was trapped on three sides by a wall, a door propped open, and a chain link fence. I couldn't run. I left the scene with my girlfriend. Someone else, in the otherwise deserted gas station, in a rural area, called the cops and as we drove we were greeted by a road block, and told to get out of the car. I was arrested for assault. I was sober. At the hearing, I was fortunate to have a witness, the judge said I went too far, but had me plead guilty to public intoxication, to give me some sort of record. The ghoulish bloody appearance I had, had him agree that I had a right to defend myself. If you can walk away from a stupid goon, do so. If you have to run instead of walk do so. Prize fighting, whatever modality is being used, forces engagement because there is some sort of material enhancement by doing so and winning. In self defense, the assailant almost never has anything of value to take, it isn't a sanctioned prize fight. You are escaping, possible injury or legal consequences, by using your presumptive superior skillset. Ramsey is correct, do whatever you have to do to avoid street fights. Yes, there is temptation to teach a jackass a good lesson, one that he morally deserves, but let someone else do it, or at least offer them a liability waiver and a visit to a gym where such things can be done within generally legal bounds.

Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Even better to leave law enforcement unaware.

I'm not a MMA fighter and at the same time I enjoy the sport. I do however understand what you're videos are for, and I find you to be a man of truth. Thank you for the wisdom you share both in the ring and out in the world.

Another channel I follow RVV BJJ, put out a self defence instructional a couple of years ago. “Health Care Control Strategies and Self Defence”. Which is exactly what it sounds like. How doctors, nurses and care workers can protect themselves from possibly violent and unruly patients. Which is light on ground-and-pound strategies, and heavy on minimizing risks of injury in a healthcare setting. Funnily enough, people tend to object if nurses and doctors go full Patrick Swayze on an uncooperative, or even violent patient. 🤷‍♀

I also think it's worth pointing out that just developing one strategy to deal with a physical confrontation isn't the best either. Sure you might be a fast runner if you want to run away, you might be a good all-around fighter, and you might be the best talker in the world, but when the time comes can you guarantee 100% that either one of those things will work on their own? I was a small nerdy kid growing up and got into a lot of fights because of bullying and my unwillingness to take it. Almost as many times though, I have used humor and reason to talk my way out of a fight. Once or twice I have even run away when weapons were introduced or I was outnumbered. I just think it is wise to try to develop all of your confrontation skills rather than relying on only one to keep you safe.

Ramsey, you mentioned that your channel is not a self-defense channel. Considering you have many videos debunking bad self-defense videos, I wonder if that's one reason why you keep getting quizzed on what constitutes good self-defense? It doesn't automatically follow that you're interested or obligated to teach self-defense techniques. But in light of your videos debunking bad self-defense, I believe that nuance is easily lost on most people.

At least you turned 44 in a day and age where saying "Phone, stop talking to me" might actually do something. 20 years ago, it would've put you in the same category as old people who try to use computer mice as microphones or yell into their TV remotes to get the TV show they want. ... Actually come to think of it, a lot of TV remotes can do that nowdays as well...

Happy birthday! I wish you would get out of there 🙏🎊🥳🍰🎁🎈🎂🧁🎊🎉🎉🎊🎂🎂🍰🍰🍰🎁🎁🎁🎈🎈🎈🎈🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

10:19 well, if the referee is Mario Yamasaky... Then I guess that sort of move is a totally legal self defense.

Okay, long time fan and viewer as well, and I was gonna original state how I agree with all this. I no longer compete so I focus my training on “self defense” of myself and my daughter. But, lol, I have to admit, the “don’t talk phone” portion was epic lol

“Best defense, no be there” still true

Also remember that after you defend yourself and the law gets involved to not say anything to the police (or anyone for that matter) until you've spoken with a lawyer. If the police start asking questions just tell them you invoke the 5th.

Happy Birthday Ramsey....

Happy Birthday, Sensai. I have two close friends that have been in self defense situations. One knocked someone out, who tragically died after falling and hitting his head on the curb. My friend, bless his memory, was a well known, bonafide butt kicker, and served time for involuntary manslaughter. The other was attacked by two people, and after warning them not to mistake his humility for weakness, beat the heck out of them both. After one produced a knife, he took it and stabbed that attacker 14 times. He was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do serious bodily harm, because it was determined that if he could take the knife he didn't have to use it. The fact that the guy would have killed him was immaterial. He lost everything. It ruined his life. I try to stay out of street fights at all costs, but if I can't avoid it I will incapacitate an aggressor so he can't get up and shoot me. But I will do as little harm to him as possible. The best route is probably to punch an idiot in the midsection above his solar plexus or in his liver, blood choke him for about six seconds, lay him down gently, and get the heck out of Dodge. I suggest that other trained fighters do something similar, if necessary.

Happy birthday Ram!!

“I am not a self defense instructor” - says one of the wisest self defense minds on the Internet. For better or worse, I’ve based a lot of my self defense strategies (if you can call them that) on what you have said. Real violence is not something that you can really prepare for in a gym. And more importantly, “self defense” probably shouldn’t be a priority in most people’s lives…

As a woman, I think when I hear the term 'self defense', I automatically think of women having to fend off an attacker. I do sometimes forget that men find themselves in situations that are less than ideal as well. Fear and adrenaline are powerful feelings though that doesn't simply go away the very second a supposed 'threat' does. For example: My husband and I left our home one morning, headed to my sister's house, twenty miles away. We live on a gravel back road that doesn't even have a posted speed limit. We round one of the first of many curves in our road, just to encounter a pickup truck crossing the faded double yellow line. I scream my husband's name, put my hands out in front of me and my husband snatches the wheel to the right and we go off the road, on the shoulder just as the driver of the other truck snatches it back over to his side. He doesn't hit us, our truck is not damaged, we get back on the road and continue on our way. Thirty minutes later, when we arrive at my sister's, my heart is still pounding, I'm still on the verge of tears and I'm still shaking! That fear didn't go away just because the truck didn't hit us! The rapist that gets shot in the back or the back of the head a few seconds after he zips up and walks away shouldn't be considered a victim, he's still a rapist. The mugger that gets pounded in the back of the head while pinned down on his belly shouldn't be considered a victim, he's still a mugger, etc.. I know what the law states and I understand the reasoning, but human emotion, fear, adrenaline, etc. doesn't go away simply because someone's back is turned to them...or simply because the truck doesn't hit someone head on. I wish the courts would consider this when dealing with self defense cases instead of looking at the direction the suspect was facing from the real victims.

The best self defense martial art is bodybuilding: you get so big that no one picks on you.

Hey Happy Birthday 🎉

The only legal strategy for self-defence would be pushing the other guy away, running to a safe place, and calling the police. Provided that you don't plan on going to prison.

Ramsey, I love you, but you are mostly wrong in your understanding of self defense law in the USA where stand your ground laws, and no duty to retreat, exists in the majority of states. Deadly force, including strangle holds, and even GUN USE, is justified in legal self defense. (were not talking about mutual combat, that isn't self defense) And just because you have an attacker pinned at the moment does not mean the threat is over. One cannot expect to keep an attacker pinned indefinitely, so it is expected that the victim will use all force necessary to end the threat, even up to deadly force. This has been upheld in US case law time and time again. If self defense was justified from the offset, it does not stop being justified until the threat is actually over.

7:37. When you said serious the phone thought you said series or whatever it is. They pick up to start listening. And then it answered back about the broken bone or arm or whatever. So you don't need to call a priest🤦😂🤣😆💦💦💦💦

You are absolutely right

Hey, happy birthday Ramsey!

happy birthday!