Being Vigilant and Aware
Being vigilant and aware is one of the best ways to know when you are in danger and be able to prevent a threat before it occurs. In self-defense we are constantly taught tactics that will allow us to be vigilant and aware of our surroundings. Many people assume that martial arts and self-defense courses just teach you physical skills on how to defend yourself. Contrary to popular belief they teach a lot more than this.
Some of the things that you learn in self-defense and martial arts is how to avoid confrontation, how to be able to talk, walk, and get yourself away from violence. This all begins with vigilance and awareness. We have all read the news lately and are probably aware of the mass shooting crisis that America is currently dealing with. Everyday it seems to get more and more dangerous to walk outside, go to school, go to your college, go to the movies, or go to any public place where there are a lot of people in a small area.
This fear is not a way to live, it is absolutely absurd that people need to live in fear of going outside and going to public places. We are not going to go on a rant about how this country seems to be declining and there may be political things associated with this, we are here to discuss how you personally can gain confidence through martial arts and primarily, learn how to be vigilant and aware. These are the first defenses that you can learn against tragedies like mass shootings.
Awareness
When we learn self-defense, we are taught many skills on how to defend ourselves, how to disarm people, and we are also taught how to deescalate situations. Something that often goes unspoken that we are taught is awareness. When you take martial arts classes, or self-defense classes you will naturally be able to detect violence and be more aware of your surroundings. We are not talking about being able to see if someone has a gun or know when something is going to happen, what we are referring to is the change in your thought process.
The way you think will change after doing self-defense. Why is this? Well, you learn skills, things that could potentially save your live and people around you. When you learn this set of skills, you will find yourself thinking different. It may sound bad, but you will walk into a room and look around and think to yourself “What if that guy had a gun, how could I defend myself?” Or maybe “What if this man approached me, where would I strike?” To the untrained these may seem like paranoid thoughts, but they are in fact just thoughts of someone who is self-aware and observant.
You may ask yourself why would I want to be a paranoid thinker? The fact of the matter is that kids that go to school these days were surveyed of if they think about shootings and over 50% said they constantly think “what if there was a shooter?” They have the right thought process, but they are not trained to think about proper responses. Unfortunately, less than 10% of the population has taken or will take self-defense courses. Why not segregate yourself from the norm and learn how to defend yourself?
Many people avoid self-defense and think to themselves why train and dedicate time to something that may never happen? Ask yourself this question, do you put on a seatbelt? Do you know how to use a fire extinguisher? These are things that we learn out of fear and because we want to be prepared for drastic situations if they occur. This can be your justification for learning martial arts. Martial arts will not only teach you how to be prepared but you will also learn how to respond in a high-pressure situation.
Proper Response
First response and proper response is one of the most important things for preventing tragedies. Whether it is a situation where someone is trying to mug you and your family, if someone draws a weapon in a public place, or whatever the case may be, you want to be prepared. How can self-defense teach you to be prepared?
Well, the key is repetition. In any self-defense courses you will want to train with a lot of repetition that way everything becomes reaction and muscle memory. When you develop this muscle memory you will be able to respond to a situation without even having to think, this is the trick to being able to handle pressure. When things go haywire and you are nervous, anxious, and have adrenaline, there is not much time to think. If someone draws a weapon and you have to think what I should do, you may be to late. If they draw a weapon and you immediately recognize the situation and disarm, you may be able to save lives. Check out this video below with Self-defense expert, Aaron Jannetti on how to disarm a long gun.
Aaron is considered by many, the leading self-defense expert on dealing with active shooters. Unfortunately in today’s day and age we need to teach our kids, teachers, coworkers and more people how to defend themselves in these situations. If you want to learn more techniques like these check out Aaron’s full DVD below and get your hand son it before we sell out. We have had a lot of requests for this product given the times.
