I highly recommend people learning self-defence techniques – you never know when you might need them. I learned some of the basics a while ago and was amazed at how easy it is to do and how empowering it felt to be able to defend myself should the occasion arise. I’m fairly muscular but not amazingly strong and I am short – but I was able to flip the  300 pound instructor with ease. It has nothing or very little to do with strength and all to do with knowing what to do, keeping your composure, and acting quickly. In other words, just about anyone can do it. The only time, thankfully, I ever used this training so far was a few years back and I was drinking (back when I drank a lot) with this total douchebag and he said he could show me the basics of self-defence (which I already knew). As he was not only a douchebag but was getting a little belligerent and homophobicky I asked if I could see if I could flip him – him being bigger in size than me. He laughed and said sure, obviously thinking I couldn’t… and before you know it I had him slammed against the floor with the wind knocked out of him. Don’t fuck with Mighty Matt!