| defense techniques come in a staggering variety of | | | | assess any unfamiliar or public environment. |
| forms. Self defense instructors teach movements | | | | If you're already under threat and you know it, this |
| designed to cripple, scare away, and incapacitate | | | | attitude is probably already developing in you. You |
| potential foes. Self defense techniques can even be | | | | have an opposite danger: if you over-think a place or |
| learned by DVD. But the most important self defense | | | | situation, you run a real risk of suffering from |
| techniques have nothing to do with sensei, military | | | | "analysis paralysis". Choose a likely path of escape |
| training, or pepper spray. In reality, the most | | | | and a few likely improvised weapons, and stick with |
| important techniques are about your attitude, | | | | them. |
| awareness, and mindset. | | | | Mindset |
| Attitude | | | | One of the hardest things to adapt to if you |
| You often hear people say that animals can 'smell | | | | genuinely have someone after you is the knowledge |
| fear'. Humans might not have quite that level of | | | | that eventually, your life will get violent. Most of us |
| olfactory sense, but we have eyes that make up for | | | | have a strong impulse against violence, and that |
| it -- and 70% of our communication comes in the | | | | impulse can leave us frozen when the moment |
| form of body language. That means that, whether | | | | comes to defend ourselves. No amount of self |
| you like it or not, someone who wants you to fear | | | | defense techniques or training can help you if you are |
| them can tell if they're succeeding. Your ability to | | | | unable, when the time comes, to make a firm and |
| control your fear -- at the inner level, rather than | | | | positive decision to bring harm to another human |
| futilely trying to control your body language -- is the | | | | being. |
| number one most important self defense technique | | | | That kind of mindset only comes from two people: |
| you could ever learn. | | | | the ones who have dehumanized their opponents and |
| That's much easier said than done, and ironically one | | | | no longer feel the slightest empathy for them -- and |
| of the best things you can do to achieve that inner | | | | the ones who realize that they have been |
| control is to study traditional self defense techniques | | | | dehumanized, and they must retaliate with force to |
| until they're second nature to you. Once your body | | | | survive. It can be a shock to accept that your |
| feels like it knows what to do, your mind will be able | | | | attacker doesn't give a crap about (or might even |
| to relax, and you won't show fear. | | | | enjoy) what he's about to do to you, but it's a |
| Awareness | | | | necessity if you plan to preempt him with your own |
| Of course, not all attackers are merely out to scare | | | | self defense training. |
| you. If you know that someone out there wants to | | | | Competence in the physical motions brings lack of |
| actively hurt you, fear is irrelevant. You need to be | | | | fear. Competence in visualizing the physical motions |
| aware. Everyone knows someone who actively looks | | | | brings environmental awareness. Competence in |
| through every room, looking for exits, weapons, and | | | | understanding the subtext behind the physical |
| places to hide -- even if it's just as a fun thought | | | | motions brings emotional commitment. These are the |
| exercise. The second most important self defense | | | | three self defense techniques that, together, form |
| technique is to adopt a similar attitude. Don't enter a | | | | the groundwork of becoming a non-victim -- which is |
| public space without considering that an enemy might | | | | the most important thing you could ever do to |
| be waiting nearby to bring you harm. Constantly | | | | defend yourself. |