Is self defense a sport or a discipline like any other? Everyone has his own answer. Some people are only looking for an exercise to relax after a hard day, while others are looking to learn how to survive, to be more efficient in case of danger.
In this article, I will try to explain to you my approach, which may be different from yours.
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Self defense is much more than a hobby!
Self defense is meant to be pragmatic and anchored in reality. Because it has a “harsh” – even pessimistic – discourse, it can be seen as a serious discipline intended for a well-informed public.
It goes without saying that talking about self defense includes talking about contexts when you need to defend yourself, such as attacks, terrorism, survival, etc. It’s hardly a bed of roses, and the words used to describe this universe are deliberately crude, even shocking! And as there is no certainty in self defense, everything can of course turn sour very quickly in case of conflict!
So you are not coming to a self defense training to sweat and exert yourself, but rather to learn to defend yourself, to survive in extreme situations! This is at least a technical ideal towards which I personally try to strive as an instructor.
Not everyone gets along and some “learners” happen to get lost and come in just because they are drawn to the light in the room.
On the one hand, one cannot blame them! An action movie is coming out? The members will flock! Unfortunately self defense has to suffer from the media exposure that follows the release of Hollywood films, inexorably attracting its share of immature consumers who want to imitate their cinema heroes with their “stylish” movements. Add to this the grotesque portrayal of self defense by journalists, and it is easy to understand why gyms are filled with “tourists”.
self defense is accessible to a large number of individuals, which is why it is often considered as a sport or even a hobby.
How can you make real progress in such conditions? How to learn to defend oneself and speak properly when the audience is so disconnected from the philosophy that is at the very heart of our discipline?
The “defense” aspect no longer exists in such conditions, only the “self” remains, the individual, placed in a playground where he will exchange simulated attacks with his partner in a joyful contentment, without any notion of what is at stake, and therefore without any chances to progress.
Yet self defense is not a hobby but a tool to hand over to people who are stable mentally. self defense is not an object of consumption.
This is why you have to ask yourself the right questions before joining a self defense club.
The instructor’s responsibility
An instructor who tolerates such slides in his so-called “self defense course” puts his responsibility on the line when he lets his trainees believe they will learn anything this way.
We may underestimate the role of an instructor who is overwhelmed and adapts to his learners and turns out to be unfaithful to the essence of the course. He has done his best!
Wrong. Although it may not be visible at first glance, he holds the life of his learners in his hands! You may find it extreme, but at the end of the day, the way they will react in front of a perpetrator depends on the movements they practiced during training sessions.
A learner used to repeating the wrong movements will be more likely to adopt the wrong reaction and gesture, and this may sell him out in a conflict. Obviously, if he doesn’t master the full gesture because he didn’t practice correctly, he will find himself in even greater danger than before…
Do you understand now why I keep saying that a self defense instructor holds the life of his learners in his hands? Because his teaching – among other things – will determine whether or not his learner will react properly and, by extension, his chances to survive.
Train in a good atmosphere: the nuance to keep in mind
Does this mean we are condemned to practice self defense looking down in the dumps? Of course not, hopefully!
Everyone likes a little joke, it’s perfectly normal! When you are a beginner in such a discipline and you discover contact, role-playing, etc. for the first time, you may be a little smiley, and it’s ok as long as you realize soon enough that you’ll have to behave otherwise to get yourself in condition, especially when role-playing.
In short, self defense is not incompatible with a positive atmosphere, far from it! It’s even better if you have a good time!
The nuance lies in the discourse, as explained above. One must keep in mind that the context is still very serious. Never forget that we are dealing with survival!
The best advice we could give you is not to take the exercises lightly, otherwise you will be wasting your time and money in a discipline that does not suit you.
All in all, this is what I mean when I advise you to « practice seriously without taking yourself too seriously »!
