Why I Released Self-Defense Essentials First

I'll admit it—I may have put the horse before the cart. But there was a reason for it.

When I released my Self-Defense Essentials online course, I knew it wasn't the complete picture of everything I teach. In fact, it covers what I consider the last resort.

If you've followed my writing for any length of time, you've probably noticed a common theme. Whether I'm writing about personal safety, travel, situational awareness, or simply enjoying life, my goal has never been to teach people how to fight.

My goal has always been to help people avoid the fight whenever possible.

I've spent decades studying violence. From my time as an Army paratrooper and sniper to years of martial arts training, teaching seminars, writing books, and working with people from all walks of life, I've learned one lesson over and over again:

The best fight is the one you never have.

That's why I spend so much time talking about awareness, recognizing danger early, trusting your instincts, setting boundaries, using verbal de-escalation, and making smart decisions before a situation ever becomes violent.

Those skills prevent far more violence than punches and kicks ever will.

So why release the physical self-defense course first?

The answer is simple.

I already had years of quality instructional material ready to go. My Street Fighting Essentials instructional DVDs produced with Paladin Press, footage from seminars I had taught over the years, and new lessons I had been developing gave me everything I needed to build a practical course people could start using immediately.

And sometimes people need those skills today.

As Tim Larkin has said, "When violence is the answer, it's the only answer."

I hope you never find yourself in that situation. But if you do, I want you to have simple, practical skills that can improve your chances of surviving and getting home safely.

That's exactly why I created Self-Defense Essentials.

But it's also why I'm so excited about what's coming next.

The upcoming Enjoy Life Safely courses will focus on everything that happens before physical self-defense becomes necessary.

We'll dive deeply into situational awareness, recognizing pre-incident indicators, developing a survivor's mindset, protecting yourself at home, staying safe in public, making better decisions, handling conflict, traveling more safely, and many of the everyday habits that dramatically reduce your chances of becoming a victim in the first place.

I'm also planning an entire course devoted to travel safety because I believe seeing the world is one of life's greatest adventures. I never want fear to keep people from exploring new places and creating lasting memories.

I'm still refining the outlines, organizing the material, and even deciding on the final course names. But the mission has never been clearer.

Everything I create points toward one goal:

Helping people enjoy life more while staying safe.

Self-defense is part of that mission.

Awareness is part of that mission.

Preparedness is part of that mission.

Living with confidence instead of fear is part of that mission.

That's what Enjoy Life Safely is all about.

I appreciate everyone who reads the newsletter, follows the blog, watches the videos, and supports what I'm building. This is only the beginning, and I'm excited to continue sharing practical strategies that help you live with the Warrior's Edge while enjoying everything life has to offer.