It can definitely be hard to figure out which program of hand to hand combat training would be perfect for you. After all, there are a lot of options available nowadays and none of them are the same. These programs don't just differ in quality, either, but in purpose, as well.

Generally speaking, these training programs usually have one of three possible goals: they either want to teach you the basics, keep you fit, or keep you safe in the form of self defense. If your personal goal is to learn how to defend yourself, then there are three traits that you should steer clear of altogether when looking for the perfect program for you.

For starters, you have to avoid focusing on precise strikes. Let's face it: if somebody attacks you out of the blue, you will probably feel confused and won't have much time to think about the precision in your defensive strikes. While there isn't anything wrong with precise strikes overall, they simply wouldn't be the best choice in this particular department.

So, if your program is currently focusing on precise strikes on certain pressure points, then you might want to rethink it. Ideally, you should look for a more flexible program, where you merely learn how, when and where to strike attackers that come onto you unexpectedly. This way, you will learn how to defend yourself better, regardless of what kind of circumstance may arise.

You should also steer clear of training programs that mostly depend on complex moves or combinations. While these moves may be helpful if you want to get into shape and learn basic skills, they wouldn't be good for self defense. When defending yourself, it is best to keep things simple. If you learn too many movements, you could end up doing something wrong in the end.

Lastly, you have to stop forgetting that your main goal should be to get out of there. A lot of training programs will try to teach you how to get an upper hand on your opponent or how to disable them. Unfortunately, this won't work out well for you if you are attacked by a lot of different opponents or if you are already in the face of utmost danger.

While there isn't anything wrong with learning about opponent control, you need to remember that you are learning all of these things to defend yourself. As such, finding out how to escape would be the most vital thing here. This is why you have to choose your training program wisely.

As you can see, hand to hand combat training programs can have completely different goals from one another. If your main goal is self defense, though, then you need to avoid programs with all of the aforementioned traits and look for a program that would suit you better instead.