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What
is Self-Defense?
Self-defense is best described in terms of personal safety, where the
individual has knowledge of a full range of safety strategies and physical
techniques that can help him prevent, escape, resist, and survive a violent
attack. There have been many misconceptions about self-defense, the most
common being that it is fighting-kicking, hitting, and punching. This
is not entirely true. In martial arts especially, self-defense is actually
centered on stopping or evading the attack as soon and with as little
fighting as possible.
Martial
Arts: Fighting vs. Self-Defense
Martial
arts: protection, defense against attack
Fighting: initiated attack, intended to harm
Most people have only seen martial arts used for fighting-to seriously cripple, debilitate, and disable an opponent. In reality, their lethal techniques are the reason why martial arts are only used when absolutely necessary. Students are not taught to hurt their opponents or attackers and would much rather defend themselves without having to injure the other person.
An 18th century sword master once said,
"The perfect swordsman avoids quarrelling or fighting. Fighting means killing…The best thing is to be a victor without fighting."
Attempting to harm or gain power over another person is fighting. A premise behind all martial arts training is that someday the student might have to use it, and the hope is that they will be able to use it effectively. Fighting techniques, therefore, are taught in martial arts so that the negative things that fighting causes can be controlled.
For these reasons, martial arts training is a method of self-defense. It is not the same as self-defense training since many of the classical techniques taught in martial arts programs are not workable in modern-day self-defense situations and like anything valuable, these skills are not easy to learn.
"The martial arts take discipline and time…If you want something fast and easy, martial arts are not for you. Martial arts techniques have been used since the 17th and 18th centuries. Crime situations today are very different as are the types of weapons used. A martial arts instructor who also teaches crime survival must bring the traditional forms of martial arts current with what is going on today."
-- David Dye, police officer and eighth-degree
Black Belt and World Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee
However, both types of training have similar components. Listed below are some common skills and qualities (detailed in the Prevention and Solutions sections) that self-defense and martial arts develop:
- Self-esteem
- Will
to fight when endangered
- Overcome
fear of hurting
- Ability
to set boundaries
- Instinctive
reactions
- Awareness
of environment
- Self-respect
- Confidence
Why
Should I Learn Self-Defense?
Perhaps the question should be, why not? Caring about self-defense is
essentially caring about your well-being and life. Learning self-defense
tactics and prevention skills will better your chances of protecting yourself
in the event of an attack. And as these statistics show, attackers target
all ages and genders:
-
Seven out of 10 crimes committed against teens happen at school. Teens are also twice as likely as adults to be victims of crimes such as rape, assault, and robbery (National Crime Prevention Council 2000 Survey).
-
One out of every five sexual assault victims is male (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics survey).
-
Every 2 minutes a woman is raped somewhere in America (U.S. Department of Justice).
-
As many as 75 percent of children have been victims of bullying during their school careers (National
Crime Prevention Council 2000 Survey).
A person should never have to be a victim of these crimes, or to experience the feelings of terror and helplessness that can leave a permanent scar on his life. Many people choose not to study martial arts because they believe it will not offer them adequate protection skills in a society where sophisticated weaponry is so accessible. On the contrary, martial arts practice can offer some of the most valuable methods of unarmed self-defense.
Is
There A Best Martial Art for Self-Defense?
This depends highly on your personal self-defense needs. When choosing
a martial art, there are three questions you need to ask yourself:
-
What is your idea of "self-defense"? What sort of situations do you feel you will need self-defense in?
Think about the types, numbers, and size of opponents, how you expect to be grabbed, thrown, kicked, or punched, and reasons why you might be attacked. This may be upsetting to think about, but it is important to determining your own definition of self-defense so that you can focus your learning on responding to types of attacks you fear and setting guidelines for how you will react.
-
What do I want to learn from this course?
Ideally, you should learn skills in most of these areas:
- One-to-one
standing defense
- One-to-one
ground defense
- One-to-one
sitting/kneeling defense
- Defense
against unarmed opponent(s)
- Defense
against armed opponent(s)
- One-to-one
standing defense
-
Am I willing to dedicate time and effort?
Almost any martial art that can be used for self-defense requires a good deal of time to become proficient in. Training involves repetitive, painful, and oftentimes tiring work. Reaping the benefits isn't easy!
Like challenges? Take the Safety Quiz.
