What Self-Defense Looks Like

Self-defense is survival. Don't think of it as being any particular martial art; that's limiting it. Different styles of martial arts are indeed good for self-defense, but self-defense in and of itself is simply doing whatever it takes to survive using whatever means necessary. It's not about being the biggest, baddest person around, or being able to throw the hardest punch or kick. It's about being able to effectively adapt to your circumstances.

• It's being aware of what's around you at all times.  It's taking time before you get out of your car to look and see what's around you.  It's also locking your doors as soon as you get into your car, so no one can come in and surprise you.  It's not having your music playing so loudly through your earbuds when you're walking somewhere that you can't hear what's going on around you or who could be approaching or running up on you. 
  
  
• It's finding ways of knowing who's around you at all times anytime you're out and about.  This could be by using the sides of parked cars to catch a reflection of who's behind you or by using the reflection from windows on building as you pass by to help you know who's around.  It's paying attention to shadows if the sun is behind you, and if there are any extra shadows around you that you see, quickly identifying who they are.
  
  
• It's walking to your car with pepper spray or keys already in hand and not having to dig for them if a threat arises.  It's taking the pen out of your pocket and ramming it into an attacker's eye or throat and running. It's grabbing loose gravel or dirt off of the ground and throwing it at an aggressor's face while delivering a kick to the groin and screaming for help.
  
  
• It's taking the time to make sure you are prepared before a conflict ever arises.  It's about investing in yourself by seeking the proper training that can make you feel more secure.  It's about visualizing the worst case scenario, trying to honestly assess how that would feel and how you would react, and about seeing yourself becoming victorious no matter what. It's making up your mind right now, this very instant, that your life is more than worth fighting for and that you will fight with every ounce of strength and breath in your body.

Overall, it's doing anything necessary, whether it be pretty, ugly, sloppy, non-conventional, doesn't matter, as long as it succeeds in getting you away from the threat to see another day. Don't over think it and don't delay in making yourself ready.

                                                                                                                           - Don