What "Self Defense" Means to Me.

I recently asked via Facebook what "self defense" means, and got back a great variety of answers.

Click here for the thread.

Now, for what self defense means to me.

I believe that self defense happens in stages or steps.

1. Awareness/assessment of possible threats in general.
2. Awareness of the likelihood of facing a threat in a specific situation.
3. Using the knowledge gained in the previous steps to reduce the chance of encountering a threat, and to increase your ability to face the threat if needed.
4. If, despite previous efforts, a threat arises, fight or flight (or some combination of both) will be necessary.
5. Follow up. Knowing how to respond after the threat has been avoided or eliminated.

Now for a couple of hypothetical real world examples of the five steps I've listed.

1. Each year during busy shopping days of the Holiday season parking lot robberies rise and we see all the reports on the news of how to keep yourself from being a victim.
2. Suppose on the local news it is revealed that on three different occasions in one week someone was violently robbed in the parking lot of a particular store at a particular time of day.
3. Sally decides to avoid that store at that part of the day, buys herself some pepper spray to carry in her purse, and practices how to carry and use her new personal protection device.
4. Unfortunately, Sally is approached in the parking lot where she was shopping. She had practiced staying aware and saw the person coming. She raises the pepper spray she was holding in her hands and starts backing away towards the door of the store and escapes unharmed.
5. After she is safe, she calls 911 and reports the event.

Hypothetical situation number two.

1. John looks up the top causes of death in the USA and finds this. Seeing that number one on the list is heart disease with 631,636 deaths he decides to learn more. (He also notices that assault is not even on the list.)
2. John suddenly realizes that all of his grandparents died of heart disease and decides to go to the doctor and see what his health situation is like. It turns out that his diet which is high in saturated fat and his family history put him at high risk for heart attack.
3. John changes his diet and starts an exercise program to try to decrease his chances of heart attack.
4. Despite his lifestyle changes John's blood pressure remains high, so he goes to the doctor to get a prescription to help lower it.
5. John makes regular trips to the doctor to assess his condition and educates his children about what he has experienced.

So, as you can see, I believe that self defense encompasses more than what to do if someone grabs your purse, arm, or neck, but how to prevent that from happening in the first place. I also believe that self defense involves protecting your heart, lungs, and brain from disease.

Are we, as martial artists focused on the assault side of self defense? Of course we are, and we should be. We should, however, also be focusing on the other aspects of self defense, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

One of the great things about martial arts is that, if approached properly it can address all these issues. As for the top causes of death, fitness acheived in martial arts classes can reduce the chance of heart disease, some cancers, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and diabetes which are all in the top ten causes of death in the USA.