How much self-defense do you think you really need?

[shesulsa]

Take some time and really think about how much threat you really have in daily life and ask yourself what your daily needs are.

Some of us are in very dangerous areas and some of us are in the suburbs, some of us are out in public every single day, creatures of habit, others have more leisure opportunities than others ... there are many factors really.

But what I find interesting is while there is a *strong* need by some for some on this board, I have been pondering the Urban Warrior axiom and some knock-off questions like, can you be prepared and not lose your sense of humanity? and can you walk without fear AND without a weapon? and various other fever-induced questions over the last few days.

Thanks.

 

[terryl965]

Shesulsa my family and I live in an upscale nieghborhood for this we really need minimal. The school is located in a pretty bad nieghborhood at times we need alot. With that being said the area is under construction and they are building it up and trying to make it better mainly because of the new stadium.

When we go to New York we would need more SD, the way I see it you can never really have enough in some places and in other we have wat to much.


My main concern is about my childern when they go out to B-day parties or out to the movies and such. They are the one vulenable to crimes more so then us.

 

[theletch1]

Can I walk without fear and without a weapon? No, not really, if I consider my primary weapon to be my mind. I live out in the woods so it's mostly furry critters that pose a threat while at home. Going to work at around 4 am in a bad section of town puts me in a position to have to be on my guard. I'm usually the only one around the lot at that time of morning so anything that happens is gonna have to be dealt with by me, alone. The biggest part of self defense for me is simply the situational awareness that inevitably comes with the training. Fueling in truck stops at night is yet another area of concern for me. Again, situational awareness helps keep the use of technique fairly unnecessary. The thing is, though, that without the training for those techniques the situational awareness doesn't really pop in. Your need for SD will vary from day to day and from place to place. Anywhere there's people that you aren't very familiar with your need will go up just due to the unpredictability factor.

 

[Xue Sheng]

How much SD do you need? Hopefully none.

But should the need arise possibly a lot.

Walking around in fear... no walking around being very aware of my surroundings yes.

when asked by one of his students if he has ever been concerned for his safety My Taiji sifu said "no". I later asked him about that and he said he has always trusted in his taiji. To make a long discussion short, he also said that meant his training in taiji made him more aware of what was going on and places not to go and people to avoid and if necessary it also meant he was capable of defending himself.

My sanda sifu has also said that Sanda is a great way to keep in shape and he knows if necessary he could defend himself.

Both are very well trained and very capable and both really prefer NOT using what they know. But if they have to they can.

I feel that I train CMA because first I enjoy it second for health and third if need be I can defend myself. And I do know from experience that it is not a good feeling when you think "Here it is, I am going to end up in a fight" and the only think you are 100% certain of is that you will not win but you will slow them down so others can get away. Take it form me that isn't a fun feeling.

So after a long babble how much SD do I need? I don't know and I hope I never do but I want to be ready just in case because I NEVER want that feeling again.

 

[morph4me]

I don't think I need it as much as I used to, but I recognize that just because nothing has happened to me or my family in many years, doesn't mean that it can't happen in the future. It's like crossing the street, I look both ways because I realize that there is a possibilty that if I don't I can be hit by a car. I train because I would rather keep my skills honed and not need them, then need them and not have them.

 

[arnisador]

Shesulsa my family and I live in an upscale nieghborhood for this we really need minimal.

I still think a good salary is the best self-defense. A nice and secure house, a professional job in a good area, etc. Add a cell phone and you're covered for a lot of cases. Of course, things still happen.

My main concern is about my childern when they go out

Yes, same here. It's mostly when they're school-aged, including being poor college students, that concerns me. I just started my daughter in formal training with a local instructor this week. Anyone care to guess why I'm having here take BJJ? A hyperextended elbow can succeed where "Hey, I really meant No" might fail. That's self-defense she might need, though of course here again common sense, awareness, and avoiding alcohol can really help a lot.

 

[FearlessFreep]

This is something I asked myself a few months ago... well it's something I've asked myself all the time and I finally did something about it.

I'm a 38 yo white male computer programmer living a fairly upper-middle income lifestyle. The odds are in my favor that nothing un-toward will happen to me.

I was in a school that was all self-defense. And I took it deadly seriously, probably too seriously. I found myself simultaneously realizing that I was spending an awful lot of time and focus training for something that, realistically, odds were good would never happen. I mean, maybe some day it would happen, but 18-20 hours a week in class is a lot of time to be spending on something that unlikely. Like spending 20 hours at the local batting cage just in case you get that call to the major leagues.... you need a bit of a sense of perspective. Worse off, I was getting into a mentality where I was *hoping* something would happen just to get a chance to use everything I was practicing. It's one thing to be aware of your surroundings when going to the grocery store...it's another to be secretly hoping someone in the parking lot would try something. I felt that that was a very unhealthy mental state to be in. So I realized I needed a slightly different approach and I ended up in a school that still takes MA seriously as self-defense, but also provides some sport opportunities and I find that helps my mindset immensely in providing an outlet or release for my mental state of wanting to do "something" with the time I spend in class.

Yeah, I think it's important to take your training seriously in what MA is intended to be about, but I think you need a rational perspective on what it means in your life as a whole. For some people, due to their jobs and situations, that's a lot more than others

 

[MA-Caver]

When I lived in Dallas and Washington D.C. the neighborhoods I lived in were of high risk. Most of my MA-training took place in those two cities. Then moving out to Utah one person remarked to me that I was the most dangerous person that they ever knew, simply of my awareness level, how for a while it was impossible to sneak up on me, my quick reactions to playful jabs and what-nots. But after a while all of that went lax. I realized that I needed to lower my "threat-level" awareness because of the literal minimal threat the area where I lived (college town of roughly 100,000 +/-) presented. Crime was there but not feared. People literally left doors unlocked the whole day through as they went to work/school. Crowded apartments with 4-5 college aged girls were found this way. Many of them were left unlocked throughout the night. Some with doors wide open because of busted ac units during the hot summer nights. While I rarely left my doors unlocked I was able to wander the nights along the streets with little or no concern. So I had more SD knowledge/training/experience than I needed for that area/time.
Now where I live it's relatively the same thing. There are certain areas of the city that I'd be stupid to go into late at night unprepared and with my guard down ... but since I don't do that anyway... So while my threat-awareness level is raised only slightly I probably still have too much training/knowledge/experience than I really need.

BUT! Let us not kid ourselves. Remember the Amish!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Things and any situation can change on a dime. So for myself and my family I plan on being prepared. Not paranoid, not scared, not out of touch with reality but just being prepared. I do the same with finances and pretty much everything in my life. A practical no nonsence kind of approach!

 

[KenpoTex]

How much SD do you need? I think the answer to this question depends on "what 'battle' you're training to fight." To paraphrase a statement from a member on another forum: "Most schools/instructors/systems are great at preparing someone for a "low-level" attacker, some are able to prepare you for an "average" attacker, very very few are able to prepare you for the worst case scenario."
I often ask my students "who are you training to beat?" I try gear my training for the true monsters, the kind of recidivist criminals who just got through doing hard time in one of our gladiator academies--I mean prisons--and as a result are even more warped than when they went in and are also able to bench twice their body weight because they've done nothing but work out for the last X-number of years. With that kind of opponent in mind, I would say the training requirement is pretty darn high.

Can I carry a weapon without fear? Sure, but why would I limit my options? I don't carry a pistol, knives, etc. because I'm "afraid," I do it because by doing so I have the ability to deal with more situations than I might be able to deal with if all I had was my empty hands (e.g. the aforementioned monsters). As Brian said, it's prepared, not paranoid.

I don't should really be a determining factor. Sure, some areas are much more "dangerous" than others; however, violence happens everywhere. Just because you live in the "good" part of town and don't venture into the "hood" doesn't mean you are exempt from being targeted.

 

[kidswarrior]

In my day job, 99% of my self defense consists of self-confidence combined with all-day, every-minute willingness to stand up to whatever 'juvenile' (many are 17 going on 40 in the court system) may decide to *go off* that day because they're tired of the group home, hate their lives or guardians, whatever. This is backed up by my MA training, which they also know about and a few have seen (they all know each other and talk all the time, so you get kind of a rep). So, I need a lot of self-defense, which 99% of the time I count as awareness/confidence, and maybe 1% of the time, willingness to stand tall and wait to see if they are going to go physical. Have yet to be directly attacked, although several have tried to provoke me into making the first move, and have been in the middle of scores of kid-on-kid and adult-on-kid attacks, often as the only responsible adult around, some including crowbars, shanks and guns. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Guardian]

Things and any situation can change on a dime. So for myself and my family I plan on being prepared. Not paranoid, not scared, not out of touch with reality but just being prepared. I do the same with finances and pretty much everything in my life. A practical no nonsence kind of approach!

This is the way to look at it and I do. It's simple, prepared and as stated nonsense approach.

 

[MA-Caver]

I'd have to go with what Brian and Kenpotex said. I wish I can remember who/what/where I read/heard this statement but it holds very true... "Expect the unexpected."

But I guess it doesn't matter who/what/how/where I heard/read it from... as long as I remember it and understand it's meaning.

 

[kailat]

How much self defense does one need? This is an interesting question, and It should be looked at in a few different angles. For many the actual thought of a threat on a daily basis is just that, mere "THOUGHT". It's a sense of preparedness. To me preperation is key. There are a few good rules of thumb that I live by:

1. Proper Preperation Perfects Poor Performance! ( 5 P's)

2. It's best to have a few self defense techniques and practice them a
thousand times, than to have a thousand techniques, and practice
them a few times.

3. It's best to have a weapon and not need it, than to need a weapon
and not have it. eg. Knife, Firearm, Stick/Cane, Flexible Weapon etc...

For many the idea of self defense is a must! It's fun, its mind altering, it's good excersise and it gives that sense of "No-Nonsense" training. They feel as if they are getting soemthing positive from training. Not everyone wants to learn martial arts to learn kata and perform in competition. For example myself and my counterparts/peers, and students are mostly all in a field of work where we need to be sharp and training of awareness is key for survival as officer of law in one field or another. Be it security, bouncing, police officer, corrections officer, case manager, military etc...

For those that come to me to learn anything other than Self Defense and reality street defense, I send them to one of my many friends that own and operate local karate dojo or taekwondo dojangs.

I enjoy going out and having a beer on the weekends and occassional weeknight with friends and co-workers. Not sure who partakes in this pasttime but its an environment that comes without a price. You need to always be onguard and aware of your surroundings at all times. Now I don't myself or the crowd I hang out with get into altercations in these environments. But when i go out it's almost nightly that I am in an establishment where fights break out. Some pretty nasty others not as bad. I've been in an area where fights have broken out and although i've not been involved but being so close and in such a croweded environment you can't help but be involved at times. So yes it is just as easy said " DON"T FREQUENT THOSE SPOTS!" but truthfully Its my psttime and my friends and I go out on occasion and cut loose and enjoy it. So for that staying sharp and aware as well as knowing you have your friends back and he yours, is a good and winning combination.

Sure having a great job in a secure side of town or environment is a great start. But also those that are more well off are often key targets to the not so fortunate who want to rob. So therefore your awareness level should be hightened as well.

Christmas time, in a local Indianapolis shopping Mall, my son and I were targeted by a group of young thugs that tried to manipulate me into a corner to do whatever they had in mind. But my training and awarness stopped me.

So as someone else stated its all in waht your battle or is and what your goals in learning are!

Thank you
cory

 

[howard]

When we go to New York we would need more SD, the way I see it you can never really have enough in some places and in other we have wat to much.

Terry, have you been to NYC lately?

It's no more dangerous than any other city in the US these days. Manhattan, especially, is quite safe. There are cops everywhere. Manhattan is where the tourists are, and the tourists spend a lot of money in NYC. So you can bet that it's safe.

In the other boroughs, it's really no different from any other large metropolitan area. There are areas that re completely safe 24 hours a day, and there are others where nobody in their right mind would go after dark.

Use your head, stay out of bad areas, get out of any place where things just don't feel right, and you'll be fine in NYC.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I'd have to go with what Brian and Kenpotex said. I wish I can remember who/what/where I read/heard this statement but it holds very true... "Expect the unexpected."

But I guess it doesn't matter who/what/how/where I heard/read it from... as long as I remember it and understand it's meaning.

To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. - Oscar Wilde

this could cover it too

Speak softly but carry a big stick - Teddy Roosevelt

 

[Kacey]

Awareness of potential threats is the key. When I was in college in the 80s, especially before I started TKD as a sophomore, I used to walk around the campus wearing a Walkman and with an open book in my hand, reading as I went to my next class. My peripheral vision kept me on the sidewalk and away from tree limbs, but I noticed nothing else. After I started TKD I realized just how stupid that was, and I quit doing it... and in the time since, I've never needed anything more, except for breaking up a couple of fights in the middle school where I teach, and that was more a matter of my referee training kicking in than any specific self-defense techniques (I suddenly found myself between a pair of girls in the middle of a cat fight, yanking them apart and yelling "BREAK!!! it up...").

My awareness level varies depending on where I am and what is going on around me - I am, for example, more aware of potential threats when I am at work than I am when I am walking my dog, as my home is in a better neighborhood than my work... and then, of course, my dog is very aware of his surroundings, and I watch his reactions when he's with me.

 

[LawDog]

can you walk without fear AND without a weapon? and various other fever-induced questions over the last few days.
Thanks.

Through proper training and guidence one can become very proficient in self defence and will not lose his / her sense of humanity. In the martial arts one is taught balance in every thing physical and mental, this includes,
* if you are taught to destroy then you should be taught to create,
* if you are taught to injure than you should learn to heal,
* to understanding what evil is one should understand what humanity is,
By knowing / understanding the extreme opposite ends of something you will have the two bench marks needed in order to understand where you really are.
Many of today's assault victum's live in the very quiet area's. Because one lives in such an area does not mean that their guard should be down. They should instead keep their relaxed awareness on.
:asian:

 

[Sanchin-J]

What I know now "could" serve me just fine with no further training if that was all I was in Self Defense classes for. However, I didn't sign up or return to the Self Defense based art I'm in for the combative training exclusively. I came back because of the changes it made in my life and the things it taught me beyond throwing kicks and punches. I gained a large amount of self esteem, was always subject to encouragement, and was a part of a family of fellow martial artists and enthusiasts who love the art for what it is. I really can't say that I'll ever get enough of the art I am in, every day you learn something new and well, the people who study in my particular art are family to me.

 

[chinto]

considering the supreme court of the United States of America has ruled over 5 times in the last 100 years that the police and other law enforcement agency's have NO DUTY TO PROTECT ANY ONE!! I would say I need what ever I can get. the cold hard truth people is that the police are NOT there to PROTECT YOU!! But to investigate the crime, and arrest a suspect, and help in his prosecution by investigation of the crime. That is LITERALLY the LAW OF THE LAND FOLKS! So, I would say you need what ever self defense you think you do and provably a bit more.

Sorry Law Dog, but that is what the 9 Supreme Court Justices of the United States of America have ruled. many times. The motto "to serve and protect" is effectively a lie... this does not mean they will not help or do what they can if they are there, but the old saw of " never a cop around when you really need one is unfortunately true more then it is not. Not the cops fault, after all the criminals do make a point of NOT doing crime under a cops nose if they can help it... or are incredibly stupid!!
in short, armed is good, well trained in a good system of self defense, armed and unarmed is better!