The truth regarding self defense

Many students seek out martial arts training to learn self-defense. While this aim is noble, the realities of actual self-defense are much more complicated. 

Much noise is made regarding which martial art is superior to another. What martial art would work "on the street" or "in the cage", or in a contest. This way of thinking does not actually develop any meaningful self-defense strategy. In fact, this way of thinking leads to trouble.

At the Shinkawakan Dojo, self-defense starts with the individual - you - and the prerequisite knowledge required to understand violence. Contrary to the common understanding, there are several critical areas to consider and understand before learning or deploying any physical techniques in a self-defense scenario.

The critical areas for understanding self-defense include but are not limited to:

Understanding of criminality, types of violence, and precursors to a violent incident.

Situational awareness and the ability to judge and interpret situations before they occur.

Understanding of self-defense laws in your state, city, or location. And an understanding of the "unwritten rules" governing violence in an area (e.g., gang activity, culture, etc.)

Being able to remain calm and control your ego, your actions, and your conversation before, during, and after a use of force incident.  This is the most important area, and the most difficult!

It is only after a student has dedicated time to studying the critical areas described above that they are ready to employ any physical technique in a self-defense application. Self-defense techniques are simple, deliberate, and committed until there is no longer a threat. Think "minimum effective dose" to avoid having the legal system transition you from the defender to the attacker. This includes everything from walking away to deploying a concealed weapon.