What is Self Defense

I had a gentleman come in to the dojo yesterday for a private lesson on self-defense. I interviewed him first to see what exactly he was looking for and what his character was like etc…

It became apparent that what he needed was a shift in thinking. To escape and evade is the primary focus of self- defense not to subdue or to pay back the insult with injury. He asked me several times what would you do in this situation, I explained I would parry the attack and leave to escape the situation. He was puzzled by this, the client asked me again wouldn’t that make you weak? or how could your ego allow you to not answer back when confronted.  I again explained that as soon as the immediate threat was neutralized I cannot engage someone with becoming the aggressor and facing possible charges and jail time myself.

I offered to show him some basic drills and footwork to increase his balance and reaction times, after a ½ hour I thanked him for coming in and again explained I don’t teach people how to fight I teach them how to escape and avoid dangerous situations this is a far more valuable skill. The gentleman thanked me and signed up for 2 months of private instruction.

I changed his mind and shifted the paradigm of what is self-defense and what is just being another aggressive person in a volatile situation.