Personal Protection & Safety Awareness

In today’s hectic social climate, it is often easy to take one’s safety and security for granted. As an initiative from Healthworks, we are currently providing training in Personal Protection and Safety Awareness that cater to personal, group, or corporate settings. Our trainer U-waye Chong is currently spearheading this initiative to help all interested individuals gain the necessary advantage and confidence to keep them and their loved ones safe.  He is the Training Director for PTK-SMF Asia, a professional organization for Filipino Martial Arts Instruction and Specialized Training Programs for Civilian, Law-Enforcement, Military and Executive Protection.

Below is an article detailing some of the training benefits of the PTK-SMF Methodology by Radius Factor Founder, Joel Levan. Joel is a long-time colleague of U-waye’s and a Certified Professional Instructor of PTK-SMF within Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are many benefits of the weapons training of PTK-SMF, including utilizing equalizers, greater athleticism, increasing overall fitness levels, stress relief (that’s right, stress relief)…

But here are 10 major ways everyone can benefit:

Mindset and Observation. It’s effective training for your main operating system: the brain. Sensory perception and processing will be enhanced along with the development of a strong, strategic mindset and greater situational awareness. Even from day one you’ll begin to observe your environment differently. You’ll learn what to look for and why. The more you train the more skill and understanding acquired to realistically identify and counter the flow of any attack with proper range, timing, intent and dynamic of the engagement with or without the use of weapons. If you can identify a potentially threatening situation, you can take the initiative by getting ahead of it, possibly without having to engage at all.

Mental Conditioning. Being better equipped to observe and identify any attack and act accordingly with proficiency is crucial.  In a very short amount of time, the training process supercharges your awareness and sense of spatial relationships – that’s a valuable attribute for dealing with weapons and a standard of PTK-SMF.

A resulting effect of weapons training is that, ultimately, you fully understand the dynamic and threat that exists with weapons – because you would have trained with weapons. Having that understanding further develops your mindset and needed tenacity. The mere sight of real weapons can cause some people to cower. For instance, when a person brandishes a handgun or the flash of a polished steel knife is seen. Familiarization, desensitization, and learning to manage stress levels when dynamically interacting with them becomes even more essential.

Physical Conditioning. The Filipino Martial Arts, like PTK-SMF, also have great health benefits, including the mind-body training that reduces stress. With the progressive nature of the training methods, your physical state of readiness will increase dramatically and you’ll obtain a level of performance (e.g speed, power, agility and endurance) absolutely critical for a fight in addition to the skill of using the tool itself.

Tactics. Through the training of tactics, you’ll learn to understand realistic scenarios in order to adapt more effectively and hold the initiative. (In addition to how much force is needed or legally justifiable.) By the way, the word tactics has become a buzzword and is not to be confused with techniques. Think of tactics as the set of actions needed to carry out an objective using a combination of relevant and interconnected elements, including maneuvering, executed with particular intent in order to support a defined strategy.

Maneuvering (also a tactic). A common breakdown and counterproductive approach with many self-defense programs is the lack of maneuvering to stay protected. Not to mention, many training programs focus on “waiting” for the attack to happen instead of supplying the training that develops initiative and awareness, identification of cues or the true dynamic of an attack itself.

Maneuvering with dynamic footwork – with or without weapons – and possibly including running short intervals if capable, can be utilized during evasion. Understanding range and staying mobile will make you more difficult to grab, tackle, struck, or assaulted with a weapon all the while you’re able to turn the fight around and gain the advantage with your own offensive measures. Legally justifiable, of course.

Equalizers. If you’re up against a stronger, faster assailant, multiple assailants, or assailants with weapons, you’ll need an equalizer. Meaning, a type of weapon, personal defense tool, or something from your environment that when utilized will equal the intent or force needed to counter an assailant and closes the disparity between you and the threat. When trained properly, equalizers give you a tactical advantage that empty-hand striking and grappling alone won’t give you for personal protection. That said, an effective training method is necessary to operate safely and purposely. PTK-SMF training will ensure just that.

Integrated Training. While training with PTK-SMF edged/impact weapons for personal protection, you will have already learned tactics and techniques for empty-hands at the same time. (It also makes it cost-effective.) In the absence of the weapon (i.e. a long impact weapon, short knife, or tactical light), simplistic and dynamic empty-hands are deployed with the same striking techniques and maneuvering skills without having to learn a completely separate system. So, countering common unarmed attacks like grabs, pushes, punches, kicks, locks, holds and takedown attempts are all easily countered.

And since they’re integrated into your bio-mechanics and encoded into your brain, you can transition from your empty-hand techniques directly to index/locate your carry tool (on your person), then draw and utilizing it when needed… all at the right time and range.

Proven Standard Methods. Tested and proven through generations of combat in the Philippines – including modern-day elite Armed Forces – the PTKGO/PTK-SMF standard is the understanding of proper range, timing, intent and energy of dynamic and continuous offensive and counter-offensive attacks (of any weapon). This means you’ll learn to effectively dominate any threat (or ambush) of an untrained assailant by learning to fight and succeed against a trained opponent. With the training methods of PTK-SMF, you’ll immediately learn to validate your training.

Confidence. Gaining true confidence is a by-product of PTK-SMF training. In turn, it enables you to project awareness and power, which is also a deterrent, and communicated in your posture, alertness, and other non-verbal communication. Being able to identify a bad situation, adapt, and validate your training and your skills go a long way.

It’s Highly Enjoyable (and Safe). Did I forget to mention that part? Enjoying what you train is a great benefit, but it’s even more important to remain as safe as you can. Getting injured while training – enough that it hinders your development or ability to train – is counterproductive to personal protection! While all self-defense, combatives and weapons training can pose some obvious risk, PTK-SMF has a particular training method that’s precise and progressive (an authentic method) which allows you to remain as functionally safe as possible while having fun at the same time. Win-win.