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When thinking about self defense and personal protection I think it’s important to be really clear on what your objectives are.
Too often we attempt to rationalize that we will have to develop the mind set to expode in a rage to take out a violent attacker without first breaking down and [b:3j76q20d]analyzing [/b:3j76q20d]what we are really after and what the [b:3j76q20d]likelyhood [/b:3j76q20d]of certain events is as well as the [b:3j76q20d]awareness [/b:3j76q20d]necessary to often [b:3j76q20d]avoid [/b:3j76q20d]those events.
Personally, I feel that inner peace is the formost priority on my mind.
I therefore do everything in my power to become a force for peace by taking an objective look at my surroundings and especially situations that arise.
If ever involved in an emotional situation I find it’s best always to not get emotionally involved in the situation and try to maintain a calm but strong demeanor.
This is especially true early on in an altercation and serves to de-escalate or prevent the situation from escalating.
By refusing to take an emotional part in an altercation you can be the stronger force.Keep in mind that violence rarely occurs spontaneously and usually has a build up, the only real exception to this is is you are ambushed which is very rare and can usually be pre-empted if you keep a strong [b:3j76q20d]awareness [/b:3j76q20d]of your surroundings.
It’s important to also write out a checklist of what a self defense altercation will look like.
Anything you can walk away from is NOT self defense.
In other words, If you can walk away from the situation then any violence that transpires, you are taking part in and NOT defending yourself in the eyes of the law.A self defense situation is one where you truly have no choice but to be violent against someone in order to protect your physical safety, that violence can only be enough to stop the violence from the other party, that is to say, when the other person is no longer capable of inflicting damage, you have to do your best to get out of the situation or alert authorities. Anything else can be seen by the eyes of the law as you assaulting someone else.
I think anyone thinking about complete self defense needs to think about these factors and develop the inner qualities necessary i self protection, and that has alot more to deal with then just fighting mindset.
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It all starts with prevention. If you read the Self Defense company mission on http://www.selfdefensecompany.com you’ll read that our goal is crime prevention and conflict resolution.
It is NOT to create you into the ultimate bad-ass ninja warrior. Maybe if our target was pre-pubescent 7th graders (I still have my moments) then we would be in that mind set.
The goal is safety and self preservation period. Self Defense starts with prevention and preparedness. as a member of an evolved society, you should always seek peaceful resolution.
Now here’s the rub and here’s what a lot of people DON’T understand. You have to back it up.
My experience has allowed me to locate a tough guy and a powder puff. If you can’t walk the walk…you’re days are numbered.
Like the man said, “I always got more with a kind word and a gun, than just a kind word.”
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You’re absolutely right. were in the business of saving lives, especially your own!
On Tuesday I had lunch with a life long friend and we were discussing the business. Now this is a guy who has know me through all the martial arts, wrestling, body guarding and bouncing.
He thought the Self Defense Company was about kicking ass and taking names. When I showed the sites http://www.selfdefensecompany.com, http://www.familysafeprogram.com, http://www.60minuteselfdefense.com and finally http://www.myselfdefenseresource.com he finally got the concept: self defense is not violence against violence (thank Mike Archangel for that quote). It encompasses planning, prevention as well as victims resources and rights.
As luck would have it my friend is Mike Mitchell a recent ASU Law Graduate, West Point Graduate and he has been working for the Phoenix, AZ prosecutors office while in Law School. The reason I mention it is because he is coming on board as an adviser regarding self defense and the law, victims rights and even preventative rights.
For example, if you feel you are being stalked or threatened, what protection under the law are you entitled to? Who do you contact and what resources, sponsored by the government are available to you?
The list goes on and on. This is something Mike Archangel has been working on for the past several months as well.
Self defense, by our definition, is anything that enables you to survive, before, during and after violent contact.
Damian
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Peace is exactly what it is about – but as we all know 15% of the worlds population does not care about YOUR Right TO Peace or your right to live.
As a self-defense/personal protection instructor I am sure that you don’t believe for one moment that your students are going to go out and start rolling bad guys.
As Mr Ross said, that is a 7th grade attitude and this is why I personally do not instruct anyone under the age of 18 (which is still young)
As Theadore Roosevelt said,” walk softly and carry a big stick,” and I might add be prepared to use it.
Awareness, self-defense and the law,recognition and response, as well as all the other tools that we as instructors spend pain staking time helping our students develop do not necessarily gaurantee that out students will not become what they fear – but it reduces the odds of this BULLY type attitude taking place.
And remember, we all learn by modeling and our students model us. If we preach peace in the face of violence this is contray to protective reflex and will lead to hypervigliance.
De-escalation is a huge tool and should be taught in any well defined self-defense system. But by the same token, “The First Strike Philosophy” MUST ALSO BE TAUGHT.
Rationization and cognitive processes in real time events is not the answer.
Awareness, Anticipation, Recognition all help us avoid, but in the face of the[b:1ab98ba9] animal [/b:1ab98ba9]that is real violence we had better be prepared to be [b:1ab98ba9]the meaner animal[/b:1ab98ba9].
If it gets nasty we, as well as our students, better be prepared to bite our attackers face off or die trying.Half measures do not amount to a hill of beans in a real time situation.
[b:1ab98ba9]”Walk Softly – Carry A Big Stick & Be Willing To Use It To Your Fullest Ability[/b:1ab98ba9].”
Just something to ponder
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Sorry Johnny, I respectfully disagree but your philosophy applies to about 1% of the already rare chances of getting into a confrontation.
Most confrontations can be dealt with and de-escalated and contrary to what you wrote that takes thinking and remaining calm and rational.
Giving off a violent demeanor will only escalate a situation especially early on.
Having said that it’s important to recognize that 1% of situations and be able to deal with them physically and violently if the situation ever calls for that but for the majority of civilians it most likely never will especially if you use your head beforehand.Alot of what you describe can also land you in jail.
Like hitting first, yes there is absolutely a place for that but being too quick to not recognize when it’s the proper time and situation will only lead you to becoming a thug. -
Fair enough sir
I think mostly you are referring to Monkey Dancing.
As for the 1 % I think I need to disagree with you because the numbers in this country alone do not support that accertion.
Your topic is very interesting and this is definitely the place to discuss it
As for first strike – this is why I personally feel that recognition and response training using body language is important
This is why [b:1csxniku]stress management [/b:1csxniku]is important.
Cooler heads do often prevail
But if not properly conditioned the adrenal hormone makes a mockery of cooler heads.
And by the by ” Universal body language” is an acceptable defense in case of trouble in many countries and a few states in the U.S.
Where as having some thug just close distance on you is not.
It my friend, is a fine line.
I personally am not a thug, besides being a self-defense instructor I am a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach.
But having been in the line of fire I do understand that retorting to violence – violently is different than possessing an attitude that goes out in search of violence.
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