When you are talking about self defence people automatically think of what weapons or training they can use to protect themselves and their loved ones. They also imagine that violence of some sort is the way to go that self defence is all about your ability to fight off any threat. Now this may sound funny coming from someone who spends his working life training and teaching martial arts but the avoidance of violence is your biggest weapon in self defence.
To explain this idea a little more, just because you have had some training and you are hot stuff in the gym or dojo does not automatically prepare you for the reality of a confrontation in a bar or on the streets. In fact very little can really prepare you for what can be the most terrifying and debilitating moments in your life. Even very experienced and extremely capable martial artists have frozen when confronted with a real threat outside of the dojo where there are no rules and anything can happen. What if the person you are arguing or falling out with has a knife you could be six foot fifteen stone of trained muscle that would not mean a thing if you are stabbed.
Yet some people will say does your martial art not teach you how to deal with a knife attack well we do knife attack training and it is very rare you can disarm or get away unscathed no matter what you may have seen on television or at the movies. We have all seen Seagal or Van Damme dispatch and disarm attackers with knives and guns this is the movies, not a cold wet Friday night outside the dog and duck with an angry thug coming at you with a drink fuelled fury determined to ruin your night.
Hopefully you can see why I say the avoidance of confrontation or violence can be the best tool in your self defence armoury. Easier said than done I know, nobody likes backing down or having friends or family thinking you a coward well let me tell you they do not. There is nothing heroic or clever getting into a fight over a spilled drink or a thoughtless remark or any one of a hundred similar stupid reasons that sometimes lead to tragic consequences for you and your family.
You may think with what I have said so far that martial arts training have little value nothing could be further from the truth. Martial arts do not just teach you to fight, if you are taught well they also give you the humility and confidence which gives you the ability to walk away without letting your ego get you into the kind of trouble that can have life changing consequences. This is not to say you should not fight back when attacked but let this be the last resort talk or walk your way out if at all possible.
Some of the toughest men and women I know many of whom work as security in bars and clubs consider that they have failed to a certain extent if they have to resort to violence to remove potential troublemakers from the premises. They would much rather talk you out of the club than throw you out they try and defuse the situation by being firm confident and friendly in fact the last thing they want is for the situation to escalate to violence. Not because they could not handle it because believe me these are very accomplished and genuinely tough individuals but to them violence is and should be the last resort.
