Sports Science

Archive for the ‘Self Defense’ Category

Self defense is such a broad term that the history of it cannot be pinned down in the least. It is safe to say, however, that the broad spectrum of self defense can be considered as having come from the dawn of time even the earliest forms of human had to learn how to protect themselves and teach their strategies to others. From there self defense evolved into less primitive forms and into delineated and disciplined forms, such as with martial arts. There really is a style of defense for everybody whether it be women’s self defense, kickboxing, street fighting or even martial arts.

Women’s self defense is one of the most popular forms of defense, and it too is a broad term in and of itself. Women’s self defense can employ many techniques from several different styles of general defense, including but not limited to martial arts. Women’s self defense mainly teaches women how to protect themselves against unwanted attackers and usually employs more evasive maneuvers rather than one-on-one strikes because the theory is that if a woman gets attacked, she is not going to want to fight her attacker face to face, she will need to employ a strategy that will best allow her to remove herself from the situation.

Women’s self defense can usually be taught in just a few classes and many local YMCA centers will offer it; it is the perfect solution for women that do not want to take up learning an entire martial art but still want to protect themselves.

Street fighting is another form of self defense that can sometimes be taught in classes, but to its namesake, is more often learned by other s on the street. Similar to the martial art Krav Maga, the sole purpose of street fighting is to bring down the opponent and incapacitate them so they are not able to attack again using any means available. If that means a throw to the ground, then that is what must be used but other times, more desperate or harsh methods must be used.

Unfortunately, street fighting (again, like Krav Maga) is one of the more brutal forms of self defense and it usually doesn’t matter if the opponent or attacker is seriously hurt or maimed; in fact, that is the objective most of the time. For this reason, street fighting is not one of the forms of defense that can double as a sport and practiced for fun. It is best to learn it and keep the knowledge tucked away for a time in which it is truly necessary.

It is a good idea for everyone to be schooled in at least one form of self defense. The main philosophy behind defense, regardless of the form, is this: do not hurt the other person unless it is absolutely unavoidable and necessary. Contrary to popular belief, if everyone learned just a little bit of proper self defense, there would be a lot less violence to go around.

With more women than ever opting to live without a spouse, women’s self defense is more important than ever. Women are feeling more comfortable choosing the single life than ever before, but there are drawbacks. Without another adult in the home, self defense becomes both more difficult and more important. Here are six ways to stay safe at home using self defense items.

1. Use hidden spy cameras to find out about criminal activity in your home. These self defense products can alert you to the presence of someone in your home when you are away. The can be hooked up to a computer so that you can access them from any other computer with internet. You can make your self defense plans based on what you see on the video from the hidden spy cameras.

2. Get personal alarms that can double as door alarms. It is good to have a security system on your home, but it may fail in a power outage. Certain personal alarms can be used to rig the door of the room where you sleep so that you will know if any intruder is near. You can also use these self defense products on main doors to the home. They come in handy when you need extra self defense items.

3. Keep self defense weapons handy. Buy pepper sprays, stun guns, or tasers as you see fit to defend yourself in your own home. Keep them where you can reach them at a moment’s notice. Get them out and test them from time to time. That will not only guarantee that they will work when needed; it will also remind you of where you have them stashed.

4. If you have children, do not leave your women’s self defense products where the kids can reach them. Older children such as teenagers may be very adept at using self defense weapons, but small children may hurt themselves if they are allowed to play with the self defense items. They may also disable the self defense products so that they are not ready for use in an emergency.

5. Conceal your women’s self defense products. You will want to have self defense products put away in locations around your home for easy access. At the same time, you cannot be everywhere in your home at once. If you are in your kitchen, you have to be prepared for the possibility that someone might break in the front door. Any self defense items that are out in plain sight might be used on you instead of the other way around. That is why your stun guns, pepper sprays, and tasers must be stowed where an intruder will not immediately see them.

6. Use women’s self defense videos to learn how to save yourself. There are dozens of great videos that can help you learn defensive moves to stop an attacker before he can do you any serious harm. Videos are a great tool because you can learn from these self defense items in the comfort of your home and refresh your learning as often as necessary.

Staying safe at home is vital if you are to live a free and comfortable life on your own. Women’s self defense products can only help you protect yourself if you know how to use them and use them wisely. Do all you can to practice smart women’s self defense and make your home safe for yourself and your loved ones.

Most self-defense and martial arts instructors avoid the emotions altogether. Others limit their focus on a gross over-simplification of emotional response during an attack situation. But, beyond being scared or angry, what role do the emotions play in handling a potentially deadly situation?

Did you ever wonder about that?

Aside from being reactions to the moment-to-moment occurances as we go through our days, what role do your emotions play. For most of us, it’s kind of like your blood type. Apart from knowing what it is so we don’t get the wrong type if we need to have a transfusion, it just like emotions are just things that we “have” and have no control over.

In reality, your emotions are actually tied to our body’s own natural, human, defense system. It’s true. Your body is already hard-wired for self-defense from birth.

The thing is that, our sophisticated brains, socialization, and cultural, academic, and familial education has almost made us completely clueless that we have these abilities and functions.

So, what is the function of your emotions, and how can they help us in our defense? Good question.

It’s not the focus of this article to go into all of the inner workings of your human brain. Let’s just start with some very simple responses to stimuli from the world around us.

You see, everything that we’re exposed to, causes a feeling, or response at a base, primitive level. This happens without us being conscious of it, and also happens below the level of what we normally call our emotions.

These base “feelings” or responses can be generally identified as feelings of:



Attraction - we’re drawn to it

Aversion - we don’t like it, or…

Apathy - we don’t care either way



Don’t confuse these primitive feelings with higher, more complicated emotional moods like:



Love

Hate, and…

Ignorance



They are much simpler and tied not to the higher brain functions, but actually come from your primitive “reptilian” brain – also known as the R-complex – the part of your brain that’s primarily concerned with self-preservation activities like eating, procreating, and not-dying.

“Why,” you may ask, “do I want to know all this scientific mumbo-jumbo? All I want to do is pick up some moves to protect myself?”

And I would answer, “you don’t have to learn anything.”

Not if you just want to learn those “moves” and then hope that you’ll be able to use them in a real combat situation.

Here’s the thing. When you’re training in your martial arts or self-defense class, you’re in a differnt state – pumped up, happy, having a good time. Yes?

Looking at the base feelings I described a minute ago, that would mean you were in “attraction” mode, where you like what you’re doing and want more of it. The activity – the training – it feels good and, while perhaps difficult at times, probably not very threatening or dangerous at all.

Now, it doesn’t matter if you’ve ever been in a real fight, or ever been attacked by an enraged individual out for blood, I’m sure you can imagine what that must be like. You can almost see his eyes and the intense look on his face. Add to that, the pressure and intention he’s projecting and the smell of him – we can’t forget the smell and feel of him as he moves in on you.

Are you still in “attraction” mode? I bet not. And you’re not even in the real attack. You’re just thinking about it and you’re having an “aversion” response.

How do you think you’re going to feel actually being in the heat of the moment?

Right. Very different than in class or your own personal training sessions where there is no real danger.

If you get the idea of the role and great value that your emotions play in keeping you safe. And, if you learn what role they play in spearheading your body’s natural defense mechanisms, then you can also train to tap into their power and use them as tools for your own protection.

Realizing this will also allow you to tailor and adapt your actual training methods to accomodate, acknowledge, and use your emotions as the valuable tools they are.

Remember, any monkey can learn the moves, but a true expert – a true master – takes advantage of things that most individuals don’t even know about, or don’t know exist. So, do you have to study and use your emotions in your self-defense training? No.

But then, you don’t “have” to breath either. But I’d highly recommend it!

Are you a private individual, law enforcenment or security professional, member of the military, or human resources manager looking for effective self-defense training that works?

Get the training you need to survive a real world self-defense situation.