"I stood my ground, and when he finished, I used the adrenaline he fed me to empower my own aggressive verbal counterattack. He used names of reputable fighters to bolster his threat. With bulging eyes and spit frothing at his mouth, he threatened to kill anyone who tried to stop him from entering the venue. The leader immediately exploded into a tirade of verbal violence. I was prepared for their arrival as I had been forewarned. One of those substances was obvious by the men's size and rage-anabolic steroids! They were intimidating and highly aggressive. "Whilst working the door, I was approached by a gang of seven men, all intoxicated with various substances. Skillen relates an example of the latter strategy: If that fails, you can try being aggressive, psyching him out until his own fear overcomes him. Be firm but polite, always giving your adversary an honorable way out. When avoidance isn't possible, Skillen recommends verbal de-escalation. At the same time, key in on potential escape routes and watch for the deployment of hidden weapons. In plain English: Use your eyes and ears to constantly survey the environment and identify threats. When it comes to self-defense, John Skillen says your primary goal should be to develop your awareness and assessment skills so you can avoid hostile situations in the first place. Then he abruptly abandoned the nightclub scene and opened a martial arts and fitness center to teach people how to defend themselves - which is where this article comes in. He also trained with renowned self-defense instructors Peter Consterdine and Geoff Thompson.ĭuring his two decades as a doorman at some of the roughest nightclubs in the United Kingdom, Skillen engaged in countless battles - and prevailed in them all, knocking out most of his adversaries and severely injuring a few. He earned a place on the British Judo Council's national squad and won an individual championship title in the sport. To polish his street skills, John Skillen studied lau gar kung fu, judo, boxing, kickboxing, and Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. He accepted, marking the beginning of his transition from bad guy to good guy. After 10 years of such incidents, a nightclub manager with an if-you-can't-beat-'em-hire-'em mentality asked Skillen if he wanted to work for him. He quickly learned that he was capable of beating the best doormen - called bouncers in the United States. With each battle came victory, and with each victory came additional street cred. John Skillen began his martial journey as a teenage hooligan who'd pick fights with anyone who offended him. The experience he's accumulated while dealing with volatile situations makes him an ideal person from whom martial artists can glean practical self-defense insights. His real-world skills and exploits are the stuff of legend. One of the most impressive people I've met is an Englishman named John Skillen. For the past 20 years, I've been fortunate to pick the brains of renowned martial artists and street fighters, many of whom I wrote about in the pages of Black Belt.
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