Deeper Down the Timeline of Self-Defense
You've read the book. You know the theory. So let me ask you something uncomfortable: when's the last time you actually did it?
Not thought about it. Not nodded along while reading a chapter on the couch. Actually stood in a room and read it the way we're about to talk about. Because here's the pro...
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
—Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride (1987)
Self-defense is a term with many interpretations. Does it mean knowing how to fight? Understanding legal protections? Or is it just a marketing buzzword used to attract students t...
“Five hundred fights, that’s the number I figured when I was a kid. Five hundred street fights and you could consider yourself a legitimate tough guy.”
—Taylor Reese, Knockaround Guys (2001)
This quote resonates with me because it captures the flawed mentality that often drives self-defense traini...
The Fight-First Model Is Broken
Why I stopped teaching people how to fight and started teaching them how to think
I lost my first real fight. Badly.
I was the youngest member of a security team at the time, relying on a background bolstered by a series of trophies to build my confidence. My taekw...
Books have deadlines. Understanding doesn't.
The Timeline of Self-Defense was finished in 2024. Everything in it is true. Everything in it reflects things I believe and have tested. But the moment a book is finished, the author keeps thinking, keeps teaching, keeps learning from
...
You Shouldn’t Use a Strategy Until You Know What Kind of Violence You’re Dealing With.
Martial artists are trained to act decisively. We value commitment, pressure, and follow-through. In training, hesitation is punished and clarity is rewarded.
In real-world encounters, that same decisiveness can...
Walk into almost any martial arts school and the structure is familiar.
Warm up.
Technique of the day.
Drill it.
Maybe pressure test it.
The assumption is simple and rarely questioned. If you give someone the right technique, they will be safer.
The problem is that most violence does not start where...
Jake Paul Hit Reality FrictionÂ
When Jake Paul lost, the internet did what it always does. Hot takes. Boxing breakdowns. Victory laps. Excuses.
Most of that noise misses the lesson that actually matters.
Jake Paul did not just lose a fight. He hit reality friction. And reality friction is the sam...
If you are planning a conference, retreat, corporate summit, or community safety event, you already know the pressure that comes with finding the right speaker. You want someone who can energize a room, deliver real value, hold attention, and leave people talking long after the event wraps up. You a...
I was setting up for an early afternoon session of my Speak Up Self Defence: Safety for Indigenous Communities of Canada program when the room went quiet. A man about my age got a phone call, paused for a moment, and said softly, “They found Samuel.” That sentence changed everything.
The man was ...
Hey everyone, Randy King here. Today, we’re talking about manipulation—the subtle and not-so-subtle ways people steer you into situations where they benefit and you lose. These tactics don’t always come with raised voices or balled fists. In fact, some of the most dangerous manipulation happens with...
Community is a forgotten part of our self-protection strategy. If you've been following our work at 80:20, you know we look at the whole picture of self-defense—not just the physical part. One of our most important proactive training concepts is threat assessment. This includes situational awareness...
