I recently sat down with Myles from Tactical Hyve for a conversation that went way deeper than your average interview. Now, if you don’t know Myles—he’s not just a “gun guy.” He’s a lifelong martial artist who still runs a major MMA gym in Chicago. He’s also a serious shooter, teaches gunfighting and force-on-force, and brings a lot of creativity to how he thinks about training.
That’s why this interview matters. Myles isn’t asking me random, uneducated questions about self-defense. He knows the fight world. He knows weapons. And because of that, he pressed me on the critical gaps I see in traditional training—the blind spots that leave people unprepared when fear and adrenaline take over.
We dug into:
Why so many still confuse “technique” with true survivability.
The timeline of violence and what happens before the fight even starts.
How fear hijacks performance—and how to train for it.
Why scenario-based training is the game-changer most schools ignore.
If you’re serious about understanding the difference between looking cool in the dojo and actually being safe in the street, you’ll want to hear this one.
Stay dangerous, stay smart,
Coach Blauer
👉For those new to my work—I’ve been studying violence and fear for over four decades, training everyone from everyday citizens to Tier 1 units worldwide. In this interview, Myles and I get into the blind spots most martial artists and self-defense practitioners never address.
Here’s the flow of the conversation:
00:00 My background & experience
19:08 The problem with traditional martial arts
24:06 Understanding the pre-fight
25:05 Martial arts vs. self-defense
40:46 Managing fear & how to defuse
44:49 Why scenario-based training is the game-changer
47:46 The romantic relationship with moves
54:43 What’s “the best” martial art?
56:25 Breaking down the timeline of violence
This is a powerful conversation for anyone serious about making their training reality-based.
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i like your work bc no one believes me when i say any of this lol
i sometimes think schools that don’t train real scenarios should just be left to rot. but i could be wrong
we say to be practical for combat the system should be
designed
trained
practiced
for streets & or combat
so modern karate in most cases might get just 1 out of three if they empower students to succefully defend themselves… if
ok i have not had the chance to listen but…
mma - which i love and practice - gets…. 0.5 because boxing is designed and often trained and practiced as self defense. my kindred spirit, boxing legend Jack Dempsey says every great boxer first learns boxing only for the streets.
moves that dominate and terrify in the cage are a death wish in the streets. so we can break it down to its components to get real tools from it. such as muay thai
just talking ship is all ☺️
i practice wooden dummy with a glock 17 with a compensator in one hand and fire it at apporipriate times in the form