Self Defense and Real Life

Sorry I missed posting last week; lots has been happening.

With all the community service activities and postive things we do at the dojo (leadership training, environmental projects, anger management, peace education, diabetes awareness, etc.), sometimes we forget where we come from as martial artists. The where-the-rubber-meets-the-road physical stuff — the punching and kicking — is very important, too.

I've been working on "realistic self-defense" training with our dojo's Black Belt Club members over the past couple of weeks. We're focusing on (1) conflict avoidance and verbal de-escalation skills training; (2) developing striking power under stressful conditions and dealing with adrenal stress; (3) learning escapes from grabs and holds and basic groundwork fundamentals; and (4) developing aggressiveness for defense along with physical and mental toughness (read: the willingness to engage and hit, and the tolerance for getting hit).

As part of our training, we're doing case studies of actual violent attacks, and as a group we're reading "Meditations on Violence" by Sgt. Rory Miller. And, as this month is the 234th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, we're practicing and reviewing techniques from the LINE training system of close combat.

An odd coincidence: there was a stabbibg murder in the neighborhood last week. A rare occurrence in these parts to be sure, but it happened about two blocks from the dojo — and my house. The event prompted me to write this article on self-defense against weapons.