Self-Defense?

It seems many of the posters here are missing a big point of self-defense. Physical conflict is a last resort, if all your other measures have failed. What other measures?





1. Awareness- Realizing that the guy asking you for change wants more than 50 cents.





2. De-escalation- Convincing the guy at the bar whose mother you just insulted that he doesn%26#039;t really want to blow your brains out.





3. Avoidance- Noticing those three %26quot;homeless%26quot; people hanging around your car at 11PM aren%26#039;t just admirinig the moon, and waiting in your workplace until they leave.





All the super-kung-fu moves and commando strikes in the world won%26#039;t save you if you walk into an armed violent assault through ignorance and stupidity.





Any thoughts? Critics?





http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/sel...|||Self defense should be reserved for when the 3 things you mention fail you, period. I do not consider myself a pacifist. I will and have defended myself whne there was no other alternative, but I had absolutly no choice. If required I will do what is necessary, including deadly force, to survive and continue to enjoy my life.





Too many people associate not wanting to fight with being a pacafist. My question is are soldiers pacafists? Doubt it otherwise they would not have chosen to go into the military, but I would bet that given achoice of whether to have to fight or not, with whether they did or not making no difference, most would choose not to have to fight.





Please remember that many people that post and respond to fighting questions on the internet are 13-?? men that have never trained a day in their life, and are internet warrior%26#039;s and keyboard ninja%26#039;s. They wouldn%26#039;t know a real fight if it tapped them on the shoulder. Many are MMA wanna be%26#039;s and posers who wear tap out clothes and think that makes them fighters.





My best answer is stick to what you beleive in, because in the end one of the few things you truly have that is yours is your integrity and the way you live your life, and let them live theirs the way they choose.|||You are quite correct and I agree with the points you are making.





Awareness is key if most people practised it more instead of walking around in auto pilot day dreaming most situations can be avoided.





De-escalation I agree with although its not always possible to reason and talk a drunk down from his/her intentions but always the first option.





Avoidance...yes a much under rated tactic as some peoples ego wont allow them to use it or they just feel they are being paranoid always go with your gut feeling definitely.





Great question and refreshing to read someone using their head instead of condoning violence, Martial arts etc :)***|||Street smarts and self defense go hand in hand. Always be aware of your surroundings. Read the room or the street or the parking lot or wear ever you are. We teach that there is a story to be told about the environment you are in if you watch and listen and learn to read it.


We say that the best place to be when there is trouble is some place else.


In any fight no mater how good you are the outcome has an element of uncertainty. So the most certain way to finish well is not to get in that situation if you don%26#039;t have to.|||I agree. On another message board (for mixed martial arts), I actually got heckled on a thread about this very topic.





A guy asked if he should beat two people up for causing trouble, and I spent a couple of paragraphs talking about how he already had the wrong mindset and that he should be looking for a peaceful resolution instead of just beating people up.





Everyone threw a fit claiming that I was preaching pacifism. It was pathetic.|||i have been in 9 years of TDK... and in all my life i have never heard a better explanation for a reson NOT to just go beat the crap out of some one! you are very intellectual





we always have a problem with new people thinking they can just go out and kill some one with like one day of training|||yes it is amusing how so many who are trained in defense are so combative