Emergency Self-Defense - the knowledge layer

Core Combat Chiang Mai · ESD Beginner to Advanced · built from the 2025 manual (Revision A)

What this is

A quiz engine for the Core Combat Emergency Self-Defense manual. Ten questions a session, about two minutes, drawn from a bank of 197 questions covering all three levels of the syllabus. It is the knowledge layer - the half of your grade that is a written exam, and the half that fades fastest if you only read the manual once.

It is not a substitute for the class. The physical half only sticks from reps against a live partner, and the judgement half only sticks from pressure drills. Watch or drill the technique in class, then use this to stop the knowledge leaking.

How the engine works

  1. Ten questions a session, never the same ten twice. New questions come first, then anything you have missed, then the ones that need a second look.
  2. Misses come back. A wrong answer returns within a day, then widens to about three days once you have it right. A question is retired only after you answer it correctly twice in a row.
  3. Weak-spot rounds. Filter the session to a topic group - fundamentals, striking, grabbing and clinch, ground, weapons, or mindset - and hammer whatever is not sticking.
  4. Difficulty ladder. Starts at Level I material. The harder tiers only unlock after three consecutive sessions of 8 or more, and it steps back down after a rough one.
  5. Ten-minute cap by design. It is a bathroom-break habit, not a study block. Daily beats long, and the spacing is what does the work.

What is not built yet - the video layer

The plan also called for a 60-second demo clip on each topic. That is not on this site, because I am not going to put invented footage in front of you. Two ways to fill it: point me at the clips you want (Core Combat's own footage, or a specific channel), or tell me to leave it out and keep this as pure exam prep. Your call.

What the manual says you are graded on

CriteriaWeightWhat it covers
Practicum50%The hard skills - applying the technique in a potentially violent context
Written exam50%The soft skills - your understanding of self-defense theory

Both are tested at the end of the 120-hour course. The written exam is ten questions per level - exactly the material this bank is built from.

Where this fits in your week

Your Emergency Self-Defense slots at Core Combat are Mon/Wed/Fri 11:00-12:30 (arrive 10:30) and Tue/Thu 14:00-15:30. The quiz is a two-minute add-on, not another commitment - run it the morning after a class while the technique is still fresh, and again on the days between.

Level I - Beginner Practitioner

14 test requirements, 190 techniques.

  1. Basic ESD Strategy - 3 elements of self-defense, Cooper's Colour Codes, the Martial Umbrella, reading signs of attack
  2. Basic Stances - neutral, ready (Thinker's Posture), the fence, fighting, ground fighting
  3. Basic Footwork - step and slide, slide and step, step through, plus lateral work and the side-to-side shuffle
  4. Ukemi Breakfalls - rear, side, front, technical stand-up
  5. Ranges of Combat - safety distance, conversational, clinch, grappling
  6. Tools of the Fence - four fence controls, post stiff arm, forearm frame
  7. Verbal Commands - Levels I, II and III
  8. Basic Striking - palm strike, slap, elbow, hammer fist
  9. Basic Kicks - knee, front kick, round kick
  10. Basic Standing Grappling - attachments, wrist and bicep pummeling, arm drag, push and pull controls
  11. Basic Striking Defense - parries, covered entries, haymaker defense
  12. Wrist Grab Defense - same-side, cross-wrist, two-hands-on-one, double wrist grab
  13. Push / Shove Defense - single arm and double arm
  14. Clothing Grab Defense - single lapel and double lapel

Level II - Intermediate Practitioner

12 test requirements, 215 techniques.

  1. Intermediate ESD Strategy - 3 phases of confrontation, context of a street assault, the game plan, non-violent resolution
  2. Evasive Footwork - triangular, pivoting, grounded movement
  3. Ground Fighting Positions - guard, full mount, knee on belly, side control, turtle
  4. Ukemi Rolling - somersault, forward roll, backward roll, rolling breakfall, dive roll
  5. Intermediate Striking - chambered kicks and combination striking
  6. Intermediate Standing Grappling - takedown defense, arm drag to choke, snatch takedown, Muay Thai clinch
  7. Intermediate Striking Defense - cover defense and the Praying Mantis series
  8. Choke and Head Lock Defense - single hand, double hand, in guard, side head lock, standing rear naked
  9. Body Lock Defense - pre-emptive, front bear hug, rear bear hug
  10. Neck Grab Defense - collar tie and Muay Thai clinch escapes
  11. Hair Grab Defense - front, rear, ponytail
  12. Ground Defense - ground kicking, standing up from guard, tripod and scissor sweeps, trap and roll mount escape

Level III - Advanced Practitioner

7 test requirements, 135 techniques.

  1. Advanced ESD Strategy - OODA loop, predator optic, multiple assailants, weapon awareness, survival stress response
  2. Advanced Striking - weapons angles and actions, deployment, striking from the clinch and from guard
  3. Advanced Standing Grappling - outside leg trip, Russian tie 2-on-1, chest pummeling, guillotine
  4. Striking Defense Scenarios - the 2-on-1 scenario and ground n pound survival
  5. Advanced Ground Defense - side control escape, soccer kick and stomp defense
  6. Weapon Defense - Club - evasions, defense with the stick, disarms
  7. Weapon Defense - Knife - mugging scenario, 2-on-1 baseball bat grip, frontal and rear hold-ups, knife in guard

Core Combat Chiang Mai - Emergency Self-Defense slots

Every class is 90 minutes. Your ESD slots are:

DayEmergency Self-DefenseNotes
Mon11:00 - 12:30Arrive 10:30 to talk to the instructor, not rushed
Tue14:00 - 15:30Afternoon, not morning
Wed11:00 - 12:30Arrive 10:30
Thu14:00 - 15:30Afternoon, not morning
Fri11:00 - 12:30Arrive 10:30

The ED-visa requirement is 2-3 self-defense classes a week, so three slots covers it with one to spare in a bad week.

What else is on the same days

Mon and Wed

  • Muay Thai 09:00 - 10:00
  • Open gym 10:00 - 11:00
  • Emergency Self-Defense 11:00 - 12:30
  • Open gym 13:00 - 17:00
  • BJJ No-Gi 17:00 - 18:00
  • MMA 18:00 - 19:20
  • Muay Thai 19:20 - 20:30

Tue and Thu

  • BJJ No-Gi 09:30 - 10:30
  • Western Boxing 11:00 - 12:30
  • Emergency Self-Defense 14:00 - 15:30
  • Open gym 16:00 - 17:00
  • Kickboxing and juniors from 17:00
  • Eskrima Kali-Arnis 19:00 - 20:30

Contact

Core Combat Chiang Mai · Jamie · +66 64 460 9001 · [email protected] · www.corecombatchiangmai.com

Timetable taken from the school's published schedule and your confirmed slots. Confirm the Muay Thai 09:00 start - the sheet says 60 minutes where the rest are 90.

Adaptive exam quiz - 10 questions a session

The bank holds 197 questions built from the manual - all three levels, all the soft-skill material the written exam draws on. Every session pulls ten and it adapts: new questions first, then what you missed, then what needs a second look.

Is that a reasonable habit? Yes

  • 10 questions a session is about two minutes.
  • All 197 seen in roughly three weeks at one session a day.
  • Two to three months of daily tens gets most of the bank to answered-right-twice, including the Level III material.
  • Daily is the point: a question you miss comes back within a day, then widens out. That is what makes it stick.

What it will not do: make your palm strike land. That is the practicum, and that is what the class is for.

This quiz needs JavaScript to run. If you can see this text and no Start button, open the page in a normal browser (Chrome or Safari) rather than an in-app reader, and it will work.