The REAL Reality of Self-Defense and Saving Your Own Ass

Did you notice? Crime rate is on the rise especially lately. With two consequtive robbing and kidnapping event at The Curve, robbery from knowing IP address, a Chinese cornered and beaten up by 12 members, beatings in Bukit Bintang area, air stewardess molested, even my mother's friend's son was beat up by a motorcyclist pretending to be injured, etc etc. Self-defense is seemingly getting more important, or is it?

The thing is many people have a wrong impression in self-defense. Even an ex-beauty queen can say something like "Don't bother learning martial arts." So lets clear up the fog a little. People spend thousands every year to buy insurance for injury, accident and death, but doesn't spare some of that money to acquire the more "physical" assurance - self-defense.

What? Self-defense? Get real!

* First off, learning self-defense is very different from learning martial arts. Learning martial arts requires passion and commitment to be able to excel; but anyone and everyone can learn self-defense. (Izham, A., 2012)

* Self-defense does not guarantee that you will be able to walk away from a fight uninjured, especially if the opponent is armed. Make this clear - when you are involved in a fight, you are putting yourself in harm's way. Even experienced master of any martial arts will not necessary leave a fight unscathed.

* Self-defense does not guarantee that you can fight off ten people at the same time. It only happens in the movies, not many can handle multi-people assaults, but knowing self-defense will give you an edge and increase your odds of surviving any kind of assault.

If so, why should I learn self-defense?

When you learn self-defense, we do not ask you to go and fight all the robbers that come your way. If someone is trying to rob you, say with a knife, and you figure that the items on you are not worth your life, then just give up your cash. No big deal. No point risking your life for a few hundred RM that you can earn  back right?

BUT! If it comes to a point that the assailant is not just trying to rob you, but trying to physically injure you, kidnap you, rape you, or worse kill you, then what are you gonna do?
Then it suddenly becomes a fight for your life! Your fight-or-flight response suddenly goes into high gear, your heart is beating out of your chest, you get numbness in your fingers and toes, you get a sudden boost of strength and speed.

At this point, you have to fight! 'Cause you realize if you don't, you'll definitely die. But your body cannot do what it does not know how to do. This is where self-defense come in.

When you are in a grave situation, your body will do what it is programmed to do, you will not be able to think straight, and don't count on remembering kung fu moves from movies you've watched. If you have learnt self-defense, you will act instinctively (because you have trained to attack and defend in a certain way) to attack and protect yourself. This self-defense "instinct" is the difference between living and dying.

Yes, you might get hurt, bruised or cut. But it is better than losing your life right? 

But it doesn't change anything if I am ambushed by many people at the same time?

It does make a difference. You might not be able to handle everyone at the same time, but many self-defense teaches tactics to be employed when facing many opponents. And a good strategy can be the difference whether you are going to make it out alive or not.

Let me tell you this, a trained person can move faster and more efficient in a fight than regular people.

Then I could just get a weapon and protect myself, I don't necessarily need self-defense, right? Or I could ask someone to accompany me?

You can get an alarm, or a pepper spray, or a knife, or some other types of weapon.

Consider this, having a weapon that you do not really know how to use puts you at risk because the assailant can always snatch your weapon and use it against you, then you would have given them more power to hurt you.

Learning self-defense, and your body becomes your weapon. It can never be taken away or used against you.

While it is safer to have someone go with you, but at most cases, the assailants just beats up everyone, like in the case of my mum's friend's son. So you sometimes can't count on people to protect you. In the hour of urgency, only you can protect yourself.

Nah, these things will never happen to me, and I can feel it when something bad is about to happen?

As a victim of an almost-successful robbery a few years ago, I can tell you, you can never feel it, or anticipate it or in anyway sense that it is going to happen to you.

I was just walking thinking about how to get back to the office and it just happened abruptly.

I tell you, when it happens, it will shock you, and you will not have time to think.

Bad things happens out of your control, out of your comfortable life zone. You can't sense it or predict it, and that makes it very scary - to know that you are not always in control, and that you will get injured or die in a matter of seconds. Ask the victims of The Curve, or any victims of robbery, rape and assault, and they will tell you the same thing. They never planned to be assaulted, or think that it will happen today, but it happened and they got a shock of their lives. It never hurts to be prepared.

Don't wait for disaster to strike then only understand the importance of prevention is better than cure.

Don't take life for granted, life is beautiful and to be enjoyed, but remember that it is also short and fragile.

Protect yourself, just like you're being insured.

Are you going to let life control you? Or take control of your life?

Recently a newscaster from TV3 joined our federation for self-defense because she realized the dangers of her parking lot at night and she works long hours. She is taking control of her life, she knows there is a danger and she wants to be protected.

Protect yourselves, be ready. Self-defense is like an insurance - you won't need it when you buy it, but when you need it it will not be readily available.

People that don't understand the concept of applying self-defense will think that it is useless, or think that it will make things worse, but have they really get into that horrific situation where you have to fight to live another day.

Learn something, anything, that will help protect you and keep you away from the dangers that prevents you from enjoying your life. There are many out there if you seek, Taekwando, Karate, Shinto-ryu, wing chun, krav maga, even just a basic self-defense. Spend some time to learn to protect yourself.

Take better control of your life.

On a side note, one of the sifu in our federation is having a free women self-defense workshop on 2/6/2012. Take a look if you are interested: http://selangoripmanvingchun.org/2012/05/women-self-defense-workshop/