Self Defense Training Do ordinary people ever get involved in hand to hand combat and fighting? Yes…it’s called defending yourself. Self defence is commonly defined thus: ‘the act of defending oneself, one’s loved ones and property’. Self defence starts with being able to recognise danger or potential threats to your person or those around you. The ideal method of self defence is not to put yourself in dangerous situations in the first place i.e. avoid an attack or a fight any way you can.
Unless the average friendly, peaceful, person has done some serious training in self defence techniques, the complete surprise and fear created by a stranger trying to assault you leaves you less than able to deal that attack. This is a generalisation but most of us are not used to these encounters and hopefully we never will get used to them as a regular occurrence in our lives. (For an effective and powerful system of self defence you can learn at home, take a look at the ‘Self Defense Training Company‘). Self defence goes hand in hand with self protection and self protection means awareness. Awareness of your environment and the people around you can help you avoid some obvious dangers before you get dragged into them. For instance, if in doubt don’t cut through the park at midnight just because it saves you a few minutes especially if you know the park has a reputation for crime. If you are out and you notice someone barging around and looking for trouble, stay out of the way; why look for trouble. The smarter thing to do is to remove yourself from the equation. When the worst happens, self defence training can help everyone no matter what their background, age or sex and it is good have some techniques that you can rely on. When you are learning self defence from a reputable practitioner or teacher they should also know and be willing to explain your position within the law in case you find yourself having to prove that it was self defence. Legal ramifications of protecting yourself vary from country to country so always make sure you know what your position is otherwise you might be defending yourself in court.
The other legitimate and sanctioned form of hand to hand combat is of course…sport. From boxing to Sumo wrestling, the vastly
differing forms of personal combat have been classified, organised and formalised into fantastic spectator
events. Sometimes it can differ from the script though, I remember being in a bar in the Mediterranean
watching the Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson fight when to everyone’s amazement Mike started ‘snacking’ on
Holyfield's ear when he should have been fighting!
The Olympics as well as other worldwide events are great showcases for many of the martial arts and their
practitioners who devote themselves to the perfection of their discipline and achieve physical results that the
rest of us can only dream about.
The Best Self Defense Moves? Every style of martial arts has its own effective self defence techniques to use in these situations. There is always a lot of argument about which style is the best to have in this or that situation. These arguments can be heated but pretty useless in the end and are more about the egos of the people doing the talking and their attachment to something that makes them feel good about themselves. All styles can be effective self defence systems provided the practitioner has the confidence and ability to use them and can deal with the shock of conflict. Often, just the sheer anxiety and heart pumping adrenaline of an altercation or confrontation can leave even good martial artists frozen on the spot while their attacker abuses them. This is where a system like Krav Maga is so effective; it evolved from Israeli army training and modern classes often use shock tactics like shouting and group attacks to get students used to real world situations. Whatever art you are currently involved in can provide a solid defence against unwanted behaviour. Even the internal arts such as Tai chi have a number of self defence techniques – people forget that it is an effective combat art as well as a system of health. In Tai Chi the emphasis is on techniques that deflect an attacker’s energy using their aggressive forward motion against them – using that energy to redirect the opponent. Ultimately the right self defence moves in any situation will depend on your training and how well you have taken in the information and made it your own. Self defence is also very much about attitude and how you move through the world. You could say it even begins with how we are thinking about other people in our heads and the views we hold about them. Mostly it is about confidence. Confidence in yourself and who you are as a person generates its own defence of dignity and quiet assurance.
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