We hear a lot about self defense. But what is it exactly?
It is simply about learning combat techniques that allow you to defend yourself, to control an aggressive opponent, especially in situations of physical aggression. It is about “close combat” or “street fighting”.
self defense is a discipline that fulfills a need created by a feeling of insecurity. Many people realize that they would not be able to react properly in case of direct physical aggression on themselves or on others if they needed help. Although this discipline is mainly for men, women are increasingly getting into it in order to feel safer when they are out and about at night, especially to be able to fight back and defend themselves in case of an attack.
Self defense is therefore a discipline that offers its practitioners a feeling of security and self-confidence essential to react to a physical aggression. Even if we hope that the practitioners will never be victims of an aggression, having the necessary knowledge gives confidence and allows to be more serene in everyday life, because the fear of being attacked can be very present and heavy for some people. self defense gives you the tools to protect yourself and others in order to live in big cities with peace of mind. Also, it can even help to rebuild oneself after the trauma of an aggression that happened in the past.
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What situations does self defense help prepare for? When should it be used?
In training, the instructor prepares the trainees for frontal and obvious physical aggression. The techniques are based on traditional martial arts and combat sports techniques such as karate, boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, etc. They may also involve the use of defensive weapons.
The major difference between self defense and combat sports is that disciplines such as boxing are absolutely not intended to be practiced anywhere other than on the ring or any other field provided for that purpose. Boxing, karate or sanda are practiced with respect for the opponent, not with the aim of hurting him. One always practices with respect for the other and both opponents are controlled by a referee. self defense, on the contrary, is meant for “real life”, to be applied against opponents who will not respect any rules and who will want to hurt you, to subdue you.
Of course, even in self defense training, there are strict safety rules to respect. When we learn to use a weapon, or to disarm the attacker, we always use dummy material, made of plastic, which do not present any risk for the practitioners. However, we learn to apply these techniques against violent attackers, in dangerous situations, with real weapons that we must master. The more you practice, the more you will gain in agility, reactivity, speed and precision, always with the aim of blocking the opponent’s movements, striking in the right places and in the right way to control him, and if necessary to disarm him.
As soon as there is an imbalance in the mutual respect, violence may be necessary. It must simply be controlled and used wisely. Under the law, reacting to violence with violence is considered as self defense as long as the means of defense used are not excessive in relation to the attack. It is therefore necessary to use self defense techniques under certain conditions.
The danger must be real, the threat must be imminent and the response must be simultaneous, the defense must be necessary (there must be no other way out) and it must be proportional to the threat. If these conditions are respected, then you are within your rights to apply to your opponent the hand-to-hand defense techniques that you have learned in self defense training.
Material and equipment in self defense
If you want to attend a self defense training sessions, you have to know what equipment you need. Here is a non-exhaustive list of self defense equipment. Some are essential, others are less so.
The classics
To start attending self defense training sessions, you will need to have the basic classic equipment to be comfortable and safe.
- T-shirts and regular sports pants, as well as gym shoes. This is the bare minimum to ensure freedom of movement and to be able to perform the movements to be assimilated in optimal conditions.
- Shin guards to protect yourself when training and deal blows safely.
- A cup is required for men, as for all close combat sports.
- Gloves or combat mitten to strike without hurting yourself.
Of course, if you ever need to apply the skills you learned in training to a real assault, you will not be wearing this equipment. Keep in mind that self defense training is designed to teach you how to respond to physical aggression, and training sometimes requires taking hits to learn how to stop and respond to them, hence the need to wear protections.
Additional training equipment
Once you have mastered the basic movements and are comfortable with the discipline, you can take your training a step further by incorporating additional equipment. This is where defensive weapons come in.
- Rubber sticks, a classic in self defense. Used by the police, it is a seemingly harmless defense weapon, but you must learn to master it before you try to use it. Learn how to use the rubber baton, when and how to strike.
- You can acquire audible firearms to scare off your assailants in the event of an assault. The plastic gun can also be used in training to learn how to react to an individual with a gun, and how to disarm him while limiting the risks. Be careful, however, no hand-to-hand method guarantees total safety against firearms which are obviously very dangerous under all circumstances.
- Training knives are also a classic in self defense. Assaults with bladed weapons are unfortunately very frequent, much more so than with firearms, so it is necessary to learn how to disarm an assailant who threatens you with a knife.
- The punching shield is a less expensive alternative to the traditional punching bag. It is very useful in training to learn how to deliver powerful and accurate strikes.
High-end equipment
For the most motivated of you willing to invest in high-end equipment to take your training to the next level, there are more expensive and higher quality training equipment. Some of them give a more realistic aspect to the training, which is ideal to experience something close to what you might encounter in a real street attack.
- The Redman Training Gear is the best protection to train in real conditions since it allows your partner to hit at full power. Indeed, it is a full body armor that protects your entire body, including your face and head, allowing you to use all defensive weapons.
- The Shock Knife is the best training knife available on the market. Its blade does not cut, but it is an ingenious system of electrical impulses that can cause pain without hurting. The ones who use it.
- The classic punching bag, widely used in boxing, is one of the best tools to train to punch with strength and precision.
- The Bob punching mannequin is a human body replica with realistic dimensions and proportions that allow you to hit the right parts of your opponent’s body. It’s the most realistic way to train in real-life conditions.
