Self defense is essential in our world where crime comes too close for comfort to ensure safety and security.
Protect Yourself: What is Self Defense
WHAT IS SELF DEFENSE? We live in a world where crime is at our doorsteps every day. It’s unsafe out there, no doubt. We have to protect ourselves… right on. So lets go to the martial art class next door and learn self-defense… Whoa whoa whoa!! Not so fast… I gotta stop you right there. What’s wrong? Martial art classes are meant just to train you to physically defend and counter attack your opponent. In short, fight off an assailant should the need come. This would mean that fighting is the one and only way to achieve self-defense. And that premise is VERY WRONG. Self-defense is about being safe. You don’t necessarily have to fight to be safe. Does that mean that it’s useless to learn martial arts? No. But neither does it mean that just learning to violently and mindlessly fight in a martial arts class will make you any safer. Say you are a 4’ 11”, 40 kg woman being attacked by a 6’ 4’’, 100 kg male assailant. How long will it take a martial art class to teach you to fight and dominate the man? AT LEAST several months of RIGOROUS TRAINING. It is worthwhile to remember that all this training will be in a dojo (fighting ring or arena inside the school). Its safe, cozy, most probably air-conditioned, well lit up and your master / referee is watching you perform your moves and score points. He is also ready to step in and call a “foul” should your competing opponent fight outside the “rules”. Now lets take your martial art training to a dark street, without much space to move. Unsafe objects are around, no master or referee to turn to for help, and absolutely no rules. Your opponent is not anymore a mere competitor, but a vicious criminal, with unpredictable levels of violence and aggression. And you are not fighting for points, but for your survival. Different game altogether!!! And that’s why I insist that martial art training alone is not to suffice the purpose of self-defense. Self defense a lot more than just fighting – its using your mind and body to ensure your safety during a vicious crime. If you have to fight, you must – but it’s a fight without rules, referee, points and an arena – and its your life at stake. Martial art training does help in the event you have to fight. But there are many circumstances where you may not even need to fight. How can you ensure self-defense without fighting? Let me narrate an incident that happened to me recently. After a self-defense training event, driving back to my office, I was awaiting traffic signal at a junction. One of my lady colleagues was also in the car. My windshield was dirty. So I pressed the windshield washer button in the car. Out came the spray-wiper combo and my windshield was clean in a jiffy. Suddenly I noticed a strange man alight from his motorcycle from the passenger side. He came up to the side window, infuriated that a few droplets from the water spray had splashed on his face. He was intimidating us from outside the car and using offensive language, gestures and was escalating into physically violent acts. Now the fact that if spraying water is offensive itself is highly disputable. Even if I did, no doubt it would be rather juvenile to pick a fight on. I immediately motioned him to come to the driver side window. He complied. As soon as he came to my window, without opening the window, I gestured to him that I was very sorry (with a bow). He was still continuing the abuse, and I told him I was sorry for the “grave offense” and asked his forgiveness in Tamil. He seemed pacified. He then indicated by pointing to me that it was my “final warning” and proudly walked back to his motorcycle jubilantly that he had taught me a lesson ☺ My lady colleague was rather surprised why I didn't explain myself. She said that its not my fault , I should have justified myself and asked why instead of explaining I just apologized. I summarized my response to her in that magic phrase we all use so loosely and frequently use - “self-defense” An argument with an infuriated commuter who has alighted from his vehicle and is physically intimidating would be unproductive. In that argument, logic will not prevail. It’s very likely to escalate into a physical altercation that would only end me (and the fellow) in three places – the hospital, the police station, or in the worse case, the morgue. By sucking up my ego and diffusing the fight, I saved myself the physical trouble, a BP shoot up, and hospital bills - all while ensuring my safety. Overcoming my itch to “teach him a lesson” (with no chance of him learning anything either), and choosing to avoid an aggressor, I diffused the situation – this, ladies and gentlemen, is a classic act of self-defense. I know circumstances present themselves to me as a martial artist, where I have to “prove” my “self defense skills” by fighting – and it sounds counterintuitive or cowardly when I choose the alternate methods to fighting, even though such alternate methods are plenty – preventing, avoiding, ignoring, succumbing, calling for help, and fleeing. In each of these scenarios, if I am safe at the end of the altercation, I have achieved “self-defense”. A fight is unsafe for both parties. You can injure yourself, but even worse, you can injure your opponent, even fatally. Injury or fatality even as the result of defensive or evasive action can result in several sections of the IPC, including section 307 (attempt to murder) being charged against you. It will end you in a police station, probably in front of a judge, and if you cannot secure a bail, it will probably land you in a sub jail for an indefinite period of time. Even during trial, self-defense pleads aren’t easy when a man gravely injures another. And loosing the plea isn’t an option either, because it ends you in a central prison. And that proves my point. Fighting for self-defense is not only dangerous, but many times a lose-lose situation. So if you can ensure safety without fighting, leave your ego at your home and avoid the fight. If the only way to save a life (your’s or a loved one’s) is by fighting, only then use it as the self-defense option. To summarize, why I say your local martial art class may not be an effective route to self-defense: (1) Don’t equate self-defense with fighting. Safety consciousness, crime deterrent techniques and a vigilant life-style are very good starting points to prevent crime. When it’s impossible to prevent crime, avoid, evade, diffuse altercations to the maximum possible. In short, avoid the unsafe route of fighting to achieve your objective of safety. (2) Don’t equate martial arts alone, where you are taught physical techniques, with self-defense. Granted you will gain a lot of confidence by attending a martial art class, but the major focus in any martial art class is physical training. 99% times your safety is dependent on how your mind (not your body) reacts to danger. (3) The martial art methodology of teaching physical techniques in a safe environment, does not equip you to face the extreme violence & aggression of a brutal crime. To have your mind and body prepared for that, you need to train with simulated crimes where aggression and violence of a crime is realistically replicated and you actually put to practice the principles of defending and escape. We have done over 150 FREE women’s safety seminars in year 2013, in our attempt to inculcate the fundamental principles of women’s safety as a culture in our communities. Our programs are adopted as the de-facto women’s safety training curriculum by 90% of the top IT firms, 88% of the leading corporate houses, all major colleges and all prestigious girls schools in Chennai. We also tie up with many non-profit organizations, consulates to do such programs etc. If your organization is looking at building a safe environment for your women stakeholders, please call our training manager at 9176693012 and see how our women’s safety seminars can help you. Thanks for reading! Be Safe!
Self defense is the ability to protect yourself, your family and possessions from physical harm. It can be used in a variety of situations including when faced with an attacker or multiple attackers. Self defence techniques are designed to help you defend against any kind of attack while minimising damage done by either party involved. These skills include avoiding dangerous areas, using verbal de escalation tactics such as talking down aggressive people and understanding body language so that potential threats can be identified early on before they become larger issues. Additionally self defense involves learning how to use weapons responsibly for protection if needed this includes knowing what type of weapon would work best depending on the situation at hand (e.g., pepper spray vs handgun). Ultimately it's about being aware and prepared for whatever may come our way having confidence in ourselves both mentally and physically will ensure we stay safe out there!
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