"The Author, it must be remembered, writes from his own standpoint!"
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"One thing has always been true: That book ... or ... that person who can give me an idea or a new slant on an old idea is my friend." - Louis L'Amour


"Ideally, your self-defense will never get physical. Avoiding the situation and running or talking you way out - either of these is a higher order of strategy than winning a physical battle." - Wise Words of Rory Miller, Facing Violence: Chapter 7: after, subparagraph 7.1:medical

"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider..." - Francis Bacon

Warning, Caveat and Note: The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books.


Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.

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Will martial arts provide me the self-defense skills I need?


It's possible but highly unlikely. Today's martial arts are so far removed from their roots in Budo that the majority of martial arts are sport oriented. The fact that those thought of as Budo or self-defense are in truth misguided attempts to label something as self-defense when in reality it is not self-defense. 

This is pretty much a blanket statement since there are many factors involved in self-defense, i.e. for example whether self-defense is for a social conflict vs. an asocial predatory attack. 

One factor that speaks to me regarding the validity of self-defense is one's mind-set. In most martial arts today they speak easily of such things as budo, warrior mind, etc. but actually do not practice what it takes to achieve such levels of experience and proficiency. If it were so then they would be lining up outside the recruiting facilities for police, fire, emergency medical, corrections, and military - to name a few professions that make violence and conflict a part of the job. 

We spend so much time worrying about rank, authenticity, ego, titles, and a resume that the ancient masters would have been stunned by if they were to encounter such things in their day. Then there is the need to get validated by the birthplace of karate, Okinawa, through methods that remove the need for effort, diligence and reality. You don't think that the Okinawans are not commercializing these trips to visit the Okinawan masters for karate are not oriented toward continued attendance and economic gain? (I will admit that there are methods to achieve the goal of authenticity through Okinawan masters but if your reading it in an ad somewhere I would have my doubts) It does remind me of the often encountered "clubs" that use martial arts as a foray into social gathering, drinking and partying.

Martial arts can provide you many things toward a self-defense model. The fundamental principles of martial systems are actually the same principles that one would want to achieve in any other non-Asian martial art system used in self-defense. Leaning to get hit, learning to move, learning to hit properly with speed and power, etc. all of these plus some others as applied to martial arts contribute greatly to learning self-defense. 

If your martial arts does not teach you about all aspects of violence then it isn's teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts are not teaching you about the psychological aspects of violence in self-defense then it isn't teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts are not teaching you about legal and medical aspects of violence in self-defense it isn't teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts are not teaching you about verbal self-defense then it isn't teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts are not teaching you about how to recognize an attack and working with deescalation then it isn't teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts are not teaching you the difference between self-defense and fighting then it isn't teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts is simply spouting out quotations from ancient texts such as the go-rin-no-sho or the art of war along side self-defense techniques then it isn't teaching you self-defense. If your martial arts testifies that it is the only and ultimate method of self-defense then it isn't teaching you self-defense. ...

If your martial arts is skipping all this and more and taking you straight to the self-defense techniques of self-defense then it isn't teaching you self-defense. 

See, self-defense is not about showing you an attack method and then teaching you one way to counter that attack like many self-defense courses. It is complex, chaotic and confusing. If you doubt this visit Marc MacYoung's "No Nonsense Self-Defense" web site. As you read you will find a plethora of links within articles within links that has the unerring ability to convey the complexities of self-defense to the reader. 

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