The Ego Says “Knockout Power.” Reality Says, “Land the Strike First.”
After teaching 200,000+ people, I can tell you—power is useless if you can’t land the shot.
Scroll through social media and you’ll see endless clips of big, strong people pounding pads or drilling with training partners. Huge, exaggerated movements generate massive power, often with dramatic grunting for effect. The motion and sound might convince you that power is what matters.
But here’s the flip side: for people who can’t generate that kind of power or haven’t spent years self defence training, it can feel discouraging or disenchanting. The message becomes: “If I can’t hit like that, I can’t defend myself.” That simply isn’t true. Power matters, but it’s not the most important factor, particularly with the clients SAFE teaches.
Most of the clients I teach are regular people: mothers, seniors, teens, and busy professionals who don’t have the raw power shown in those videos. Yet many self-defence practitioners, even experienced ones, still focus on power vs speed as the main goal in striking.
Here’s the problem: big, powerful strikes usually come with obvious body language. If your opponent has decent reaction time, they’ll see it coming. That doesn’t mean they’ll always stop it, but you’ve already given them more time to react. What’s the point of power if you can’t land the strike?
Ideally, both power and speed matter. But if I must prioritize one for my clients, it’s always speed. Teaching non-telegraphed, fast strikes lays a foundation. Then, if possible, add power. Speed delivers real results first.
If you start with a big, powerful strike like a punch or hammerfist, hoping for a one-shot knockout, you’re either fooling yourself or you’ve been taught the wrong way. I never teach someone to strike just once, because if that’s how you train, you’ll probably do the same under real pressure. Instead, training to deliver multiple strikes or add other skills makes you much more likely to respond that way in a real confrontation. You can also stop when it’s appropriate, depending on the legal situation. When the person you’re defending against is no longer a threat, you’re legally obligated to stop, as continuing to use force after the threat has ended can result in legal consequences. Easy to say, harder to do in the moment. Many factors can affect this decision, and I may do a full post on that in the future. Simply put: once there’s no longer a threat, the law expects you to stop.
Here’s another truth I won’t dive into deeply in this post: most people can’t punch effectively to begin with. But they can deliver open-handed strikes far more reliably. So why build a strategy around something most people will struggle to execute under pressure?
A quick, non-telegraphed strike to a vulnerable spot might not knock someone out, but it can create a crucial moment of disruption, especially if the attacker did not see it coming. That moment could be enough to follow up with stronger strikes, escape, or turn the situation in your favor.
If you’re teaching or learning self-defence, don’t let ego or flashy social media convince you power is everything. For most people, speed, landed on the right targets, is what truly levels the playing field.
👉 Want to dive deeper into teaching violence prevention and practical physical skills like this? Check out the SAFE Violence Prevention & Self Defence Certification: https://safeinternational.biz/safe-certification-page
Keep SAFE!
Chris Roberts
