Awareness

The number one most important self defense skill that you can develop is simply awareness. All of the best instruction, the hardest training, and the most amazing equipment will mean nothing if you are not fully aware of your situation. This has to be the starting point for anyone who is serious about protection themselves, their loved ones, and their property.

There is much more to self defense training, but everything has to be built on the foundation of your awareness. If you are new to self defense this is one thing that you can do right now, starting today, and carrying on for the rest of your life:

Develop the mental awareness to always know what is going on around you.

Most martial arts disciplines will have a very big element of their training program designed for students to develop this skill. Indeed, many self defense instructors will say that martial arts is 90% mental.

Zones of Awareness

A very useful method to categorize any given situation is the, “Zones of Awareness”.

White Zone: You are clueless. You have no idea what is going on around you. You don’t know if someone suspicious is looking at you, following you, coming your way. You are totally absorbed in your own thoughts, inside your head, on your phone, not aware of anything external.

Yellow Zone: You are aware. You are observant. You see. You hear. You smell. You sense. You know if there is a corner ahead that someone may be hiding around. You are ready for anything that life throws at you. This is not an agitated state. You are relaxed. You are calm. You are simply aware of the world around, the people around you, the terrain, the weather, the structures, your clothes & shoes, your personal defense equipment, your strengths and limitations. You acknowledge all of this subconsciously and you are generally at peace.

Orange Zone: Danger is imminent. Tensions are flaring. Someone is coming at you or has expressed their intent to do you harm. Your senses are now heightened. You are ready to either fight or flee.

Red Zone: When you fight or flee, you are in the red zone. This is when all of your training, equipment, and mental fortitude springs into action.

Live in the Yellow Zone. Be aware of any situation before it happens.

Avoidance

The only battle that you ever win is that which you do not fight. This may seem ironic, but one of the ultimate goals of martial arts training is to never have to fight. Never be in a position where you need to defend yourself. This may be unrealistically simple for everyone but the principle is sound.

Today’s world is becoming increasingly tense but there is still a lot you can do to avoid situations where self defense is necessary. As mentioned above, awareness is key.

Even if you find yourself in an orange zone scenario there are things you can do to de-escalate and avoid confrontation. The biggest thing you have control over is yourself. You must be able to control your emotions and behave rationally.

A good instructor will tell you to never let your fist go when you are angry.

Fundamentals

Your basic moves are the foundation upon which all of your actions are built upon. The more you practice and perfect these fundamentals, the better every other part of your self defense becomes. One ancient master said on his death bed that it was a pity to die because he had only just recently mastered the straight punch. It is this kind of dedication to the basics that will allow you to progress.

Beware, however, because practice does not make perfect! Practice only makes permanent. If you practice something the wrong way, over and over and over, then you ingrain that improper technique until it becomes a bad habit. Always take the time to go slowly and refine your motions. One of my favorite instructors always said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.” Give yourself the permission to be bad at something but committed to getting better. You will.

Conditioning

Good self defense is only possible if you take responsibility for yourself. Everyone has the right to defend themselves against aggressors, even if they are in questionable physical condition. But if you want to give yourself the best opportunity of success then you’ll want to be honest with yourself and take steps to improve. Most martial arts classes will spend a good amount of time on conditioning such as push ups, sit ups, and stretching.

The actual moves of self defense training will also help with your overall well being. In some cases you will learn complex sets of moves that resemble dance and you will be challenged to contort your body in ways that seem difficult at first. But the more you train the easier it becomes. And then you push further.

Discipline

Learning something new can be very challenging! At first we may be excited about it and then sometimes it becomes more of a chore. In times like this we need to remind ourselves why we started on this journey. The end result is worth it. The daily grind, the constant training, the endless conditioning… all of this is necessary to reach our goals in self defense training and indeed in life.

Martial arts training is a reflection of life. To succeed you must be disciplined. When you succeed, and you will, then you can look back on all of your effort and be content. When you look at taking on new projects and you want to reach new goals then you will always be able to tell yourself it is possible because you know how to be disciplined, you have been disciplined in the past, and you will do what it takes to reach your objectives.

Final Thoughts

There is much more to be said about self defense training than can be written in a single article. This brief overview of the basics is food for thought. You are encouraged to continue learning and searching for good information. Ultimately, you are encouraged to find a good instructor and learn from someone who is trained to teach. In martial arts there is no learning with out doing.