Self defense involves much more than just being physically skilled at fighting. Self defense is not fighting. It involves awareness, threat assessment, verbal assertion, de-escalation and the physical skills are only a small aspect of personal defense. In fact, there have been people with no training, who have successfully defended themselves. Personal defense, finding oneself in a defensive situation, also involves psychological, physiological and legal aspects. A good self defense program will educate about these vitally important areas.
Violence is more involved than the impressions we have embedded in our minds. Through media and other means, it is often thought that violence is merely the physical attack whether by surprise, or not. But our personal safety is much more than physical.
In applying self defense skills, one must understand that it doesn’t mean going from feeling alarmed to immediately implementing physical force. This does not mean a feeling of insult, humiliation, shame or anger makes physical force justifiable. It means knowing of immediate danger of grave bodily harm. Harm as in death or dismemberment, not a broken nail or broken pride.
Personal safety is an issue females think of often. Experiences may have conditioned them to be vigilant in assessing environment and situation. No matter how vigilant, one must be prepared, and self defense training should give the tools and skills for that preparation. There are many great programs with a common goal of providing accurate, practical, valuable skills and information.
One of the most important tools we have for our safety is intuition. Often ignored, it is our greatest ally. It communicates to us in a myriad of ways. If we disregard it, efforts are stepped up to try to get our attention. Learning to listen is essential. Gavin de Becker’s book The Gift of Fear is a remarkable resource to learn more about intuition and learning to listen.
Subtle Warrior Self Defense provides mobile, on-site personal safety education. In our dedication to educate, upcoming blogs will cover the various aspects of self defense. So be sure to check back to learn more!
© Lisa Abbott, Subtle Warrior Self Defense, LLC 2009
