When you get right down to it, I didn't want to have buyers remorse....period! I wanted a system that was easy to learn but brutally effective regardless of the situation. I didn't want to travel and take weeks off work and be away from my family.

When I looked for credible opinions I turned towards the testimonials different websites offered. At the end of the day you can't completely trust the testimonials because you can't confirm them. Also the vendor would never post a criticism.... that would just be bad salesmanship! So how do you find a system that is the right fit for you? I scoured forums and researched products, techniques, etc. By the way don't ever trust everything that is said on a forum.

Where the rubber really hit the road was when I actually opened up my wallet and started spending money! So I'm going to try and save you some of those hard earned dollars and share with you my experiences, thoughts and advice.

I'll back track a bit here and share with you what led me down this path.

I guess it all really started in elementary school......just kidding! I won't go that far back.

But really my journey started like most by taking a karate class at a local rec centre as a child. In my teenage years I bounced back and forth between taking kick boxing classes, Jeet Kune Do and I finally settled down with boxing.

I never achieved any great status in any of the above disciplines, however many great times were had during training, on tournaments and life long friends were made.

As a typical testosterone raging teenage male, on the odd occasion there were some social altercations where male egos collided and having some fighting skills came in handy. Fast forward roughly fifteen years and I am now happily married with children.

I wanted you to know this so that you know I'm pretty much an average Joe, when I'm not at work I'm with my family or working for some local charitable organizations. I'm not a former Special Operations guy who will tell you that I can show you 100 ways to kill someone with a rolled up newspaper.

I played physical contact sports like football and boxing. I feel that I can handle myself with no other training pretty darn well.

But when it came to dealing with life or death situations against someone bigger, with a weapon, multiple attackers or up against a raging sociopath, I had some nagging doubts and concerns.

Funny thing is that once I had children something inside me changed and I wanted to revisit the world of martial arts, contact sports and self defense. Having two little people in my life now triggered a desire to be able to protect myself and my family at all costs, regardless of what situation was thrown our way.

I wanted to get back into a healthier physical condition. Be able to protect myself and my family and teach my wife and our kids how to handle themselves.

Even though I live in a town with a population of only approx. 110,000 violence seems to be rearing its ugly head every time I turn around!

A Macleans magazine 2009 National Crime Ranking recently ranked the city I live in as the fourteenth most dangerous Canadian city to live in out of 100. We ranked fifth out of 100 for the crime of sexual assault and sixth for aggravated assault.

On top of this it seems as though 2010 will be just as bad if not worse, judging by the frequency of violence in the local newspaper headlines this year. For now I'll blame it on the local economy.

So I started to look at different websites, books and products in the area of self protection and combatives. I realized that the amount of information out there is staggering.

There are thousands of systems, styles, techniques and moves geared towards the average consumer. The options available are absolutely overwhelming.

How do you pick the right one?

Which one is best for you?

Which ones are pure snake oil salesmen capitalizing on the internet and people's fear?

Which one offers techniques and moves that will work 100% of the time.

These are all more questions I asked myself.

I bought some, passed on others. Some I bought, kicked myself in the rear end for buying and ended up throwing them on a shelf saying "At least I will recoup some of my costs if I sell it on e-bay!"

Others I didn't have this option because they were all e-versions, built for instant gratification and an immediate sale with little overhead expenses and nothing but profit for the vendor!

I should have known better! I have written these ones off as a learning experience to share with others.

I did however uncover some real gems that I will share with you.

As a prudent consumer on a limited financial budget and just as important a limited time budget, how do you determine which one is effective and the right fit for you?

I want to help you clear through the clutter and give you my unbiased opinions on the products that I have tried and looked at.

I will let you know what I think of the products, the moves / techniques reviewed and whether I feel it is effective and worth the cost.

From where I live it is an eight hour drive to the closest major city of Winnipeg and an eighteen hour drive to Toronto. Because of this I will be reviewing systems and disciplines that are using technology, books and videos to enable you to learn effectively from a distance.

I will not ignore the systems where the fundamentals and basic principals can be learned over a week or a weekend of on site training. Because of budget limitations with all the costs associated with airfare, transportation, meals, lodging and the enrollment fees, these reviews will be limited and will come in the future.

I will limit them to the ones that have gained my trust and confidence through their distance learning materials.

The main criteria I have used for my product reviews is to look at the following:

1. Where do you get the best bang for your buck?

2. Which self defense moves and techniques can be taught from a distance effectively?

3. Which self defense products are best for the average Joe.

4. Which self defense systems have moves and techniques that are effective in a violent confrontation.

I will also be looking at verbal self defense, self defense for women, self defense for kids as well as self defense workouts and conditioning.

I will be the first to admit that I do not know everything. However I do have a passion and a purpose. So join me on my journey and keep checking back to see if there are any new reviews or thoughts that I have shared.

Thank you and I hope you value the feedback and thoughts that I share here.