Just recently I completed a Basic Krav Maga Self Defense Course. It was an eye opening and enjoyable experience that I’m glad I did. I recommend all men and women look into learning how to defend yourself. YouTube videos are not the way to go. You need hands on training from a professional.
Learning self defense is one of the most valuable things you can do for yourself.
1) Don't be complacent
Going through life without regard for your personal safety is not only dangerous, it’s ignorant. Yes, that was blunt. It’s also true. If you spend any time watching Live PD
or watching your local news you’ll see the places you pass everyday where crime occurs. Unfortunately it is everywhere. Just because you’ve not been robbed at midnight at an ATM doesn’t mean you’re immune to crime. You need to open your eyes, and your mind, to the fact that you could be a target for an attack and that a self defense course can give you valuable skills to protect yourself and your family.
2) Learn Valuable Skills
Self defense instructors love what they do. They are passionate about their disciplines and making sure their students walk out prepared for the world around them. No matter the style of self defense you learn, you will have hands on training by an expert on what to do if you are assaulted. You’ll learn what to look for when you strike and how to execute combative moves correctly to end the fight as soon as possible allowing you to escape. You will build confidence and learn more about yourself on a level you never knew.
While you learn the lifesaving skills of a self defense class, you hope to one day never need them. You may know to avoid the ATM after dark, lock your car doors and jog with a friend, but one day these skills may be the difference in being a target and being a victim. A target is someone selected for an attack, but fends off the attacker whereas a victim is at the mercy of the bad guy. You don’t want to be a victim. We can’t always help if we are targeted for a crime, but we can control victim status. Stand up for yourself and refuse to be a victim.
3) Learn more about Yourself
When I took my self defense course I wanted to be confident I could win a fight if I was forced into one. I always want to avoid any sort of physical confrontation. After the class, my thinking holds true. I learned even more that avoiding a fight is the best route to peace and escape. Yes, I can handle myself, but I’m not Chuck Norris. If I get into a fight, it means all other options have failed. While I gained a better understanding of my fighting capabilities, I found my core beliefs to be justified.
Learning a martial art is a primal endeavour. In today’s society we pay the military and the police to protect us. We have collectively moved away from being personally responsible for our own safety. Taking the step to learn how to defend yourself opens up a new, primal, way of thinking. This awakens a long dormant part of our brains that our ancestors perfected keeping their families safe for thousands of years. When your heart is racing from being punched in the face, your primal brain kicks in with your new found training and the result is the discovery of your primal self. Embrace it your primal self, it will keep you safe.
4) Confidence Building
Learning self defense builds your confidence. When you complete your training you’ll have learned a discipline that will give you the strength to stand up for yourself. Knowing that you can take care of yourself builds you up in multiple ways in life. You’ll walk taller, speak with more confidence and defend your opinions in your everyday encounters. Acknowledging your vulnerabilities and embracing your primal brain will make you stronger mentally, emotionally and physically.
(My Sensei and I having fun.)
5) It’s Fun
Last, but not least, the best part of self defense training is that it is fun. It’s fantastic cardio that helps you learn how to keep yourself safe. You’ll raise your heart rate, sweat out your anxieties and strike with confidence. And chances are you’ll laugh at yourself a time or two when you mix up your combinations or forget your foot work. When you’re hitting the punching bag, running the agility ladder and throwing someone onto a thick mat, it’s kinda like the playground all over again. Don’t think that self defense training is all doom and gloom, it’s not. It’s confidence building at it’s best.
Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call your local self defense instructor. The first step in defending yourself is knowing that you need training. The time and sweat you invest in yourself will pay off fully in confidence and skill.
