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Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Why is Self-Defense necessary?

Self-defence is one of the basic human rights that must be accessible to everyone. It refers to the ability of a non-provoking person to defend himself/herself in the wake of a sudden violent, annoying and potentially dangerous episode. In today’s world when the crime rates are soaring, the importance of self-defence takes the front seat. Self-defence has many forms and shapes, which can be employed to defend ourselves depending upon the occasion and circumstances. It must be taken into consideration that importance of self-defence is not only limited to a certain gender, age group, community or race instead it is indispensable for people of all genders, age groups, communities, races, religions and nationalities.

Woman makes punch to the throat, self-defense
Woman makes punch to the throat, self-defense

Self-defense and children:

Children are considered to be the most vulnerable members of our society and the importance of self-defence for them is often not stressed enough. The children and teenagers must be equipped with the techniques and strategies pertaining to self-defence, which may come in handy in situations such as kidnapping, bullying, and other violent incidents. It is a fact that high school bullying is real and students are more often than not unable to process bullying situations at schools, colleges and other social gatherings. Such incidents interfere with their abilities to function properly in academic as well as extracurricular activities. According to the Department of Justice, around 40% children and teenagers become victims of direct violence in US. Self-defence trainings are beneficial to the children and teenagers in many ways such as

  • Teaches self awareness
  • Good exercise
  • Teaches self worth
  • Educate about spatial concepts
  • Enhances self confidence
  • Develops discipline
  • Teaches problem solving
  • Helps in dealing with bullying episodes
Children fight with coach
Children fight with coach

Self-defence for men and women:

Men are often stereotyped to be muscular, sturdy and robust. Therefore, they are often times excluded from the category of people who require self-defence training. However, it is a delusion considering the fact that men also age and aged people require the ability to defend themselves in unbridled aggressive situations. On the contrary, numerous studies have shown that males get into violent situation more often than any other gender. There can be any number of motives such as alcoholism, the so-called alpha male ego, and others.

When it comes to women, the importance of knowledge regarding self-defence techniques and strategies becomes paramount. They are the most common victims of attacks, which may occur at anytime and anywhere. The crimes and violent situations that need women to go for self-defence training programs may include  molestation, sexual assaults, catcalling, kidnapping, murder, acid attacks, stalking to name a few. According to a survey report by WHO, one in every three women may face violent incidents in their lives while one in 33 men is expected to face violent attacks. According to a report by Department of Justice, around 60% children become victims of violent attacks in US schools. The aforementioned statistics are reflective of the importance of self-defence among the women, men, children and aged people.

Woman makes punch to the throat, self-defense
Woman makes punch to the throat, self-defense

Elements of self-defence:

There are four prerequisites that need to be met for implementation of self-defence activities in a potentially dangerous situation.

  1. an unprovoked attack
  2. threat of imminent injury or death
  3. an objectively reasonable degree of force used in response
  4. an objectively reasonable fear of death or injury

Major self-defence techniques:

  • hammer strike
  • elbow strike
  • groin strike
  • heel palm strike
  • alternative elbow strike
  • escape from a bear hug
  • escape from side headlock
  • escape with hands trapped

Types of self-defence styles:

Following are some major styles of self-defence that are taught professionally across the globe.

  • Kickboxing
  • Karate
  • Judo
  • Kung Fu
  • Aikido
  • Taekwondo
  • Muay Thai

Benefits of self-defence:

  • Self-defence and protection:

Self-defence programs and strategies strive towards making people able to defend themselves in the wake of unpremeditated violent as well as desperate situations. The self-defence techniques also help individuals to protect their loved ones as well. Such strategies let the individuals to take charge, defuse and de-escalate a violent situation in order to increase the chances of survival and damage control in the aftermath of such a situation.

  • Build self-confidence/self worth:

Training in self-defence activities boost the confidence levels of the attendants and inculcate in them a feeling that they can protect themselves without becoming stressed out and panicked. People who are naturally shy and timid become self-assured and confident that they can come out of any kind of violent situation considerably unharmed. It has also been reported that self-confident people are less likely to become victims of violence than their counterparts are.

  • Develop healthy lifestyle:

Self-defence programs and classes require the individuals to be punctual, disciplined and regular during the classes. They go through a plethora of exercises and techniques, which build their stamina. The regular exercises and workouts make them strong physically as well as emotionally, as reported by many attendants of self-defence programs in US.

  • Mental wellbeing:

Self-defence does not only pertain to the physical wellbeing of people, it is also vital for the emotional and mental health and peace. People who go through violent incidents do recover physically. However, the traumatic episodes wreck their mental wellbeing and keep corrupting them emotionally. Self-defence classes and programs are particularly beneficial for such survivors, which help them channel their traumatic energies into something positive to ensure that the previous traumatic episode does not happen again.

  • Improve street awareness:

Self-defence techniques instruct people to improve their concentration and be vigilant about the surroundings. Many reports claim that the people, who seem to be alert and focused are less likely to be attacked by the criminals. On the other hand, the unsuspecting and unmindful people often get the attention of criminals and fall prey to attacks.

Conclusion: The facts, figures and the discussion above provide ample evidence that self-defence is of supreme importance and the increased awareness campaigns, self-defence programs and strategies are proving instrumental in reducing violent episodes.

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