There are many wonderful reasons to practice martial arts. Learning self-defense, getting a great workout, learning mental and physical discipline, even doing something engaging and fun are all common things people tell me they are looking for when starting in our adult martial arts class. Of these, self defense is unique to martial arts when you consider all the other activities there are to choose from.

Self-defense isn’t necessarily a standard component to all styles of martial arts. Some, like tai chi, focus very little on it (at least on an external level). However if you are interested in being able to defend yourself, you should definitely take a few things into consideration.

1) Learn techniques that are practical. Focus on fast, simple strikes to vulnerable targets, a few different ways to throw and control an attacker in all positions (including the ground like Jiu-Jitsu), as well as techniques to deal with weapon attacks. If you don’t have a solid foundation of simple and effective martial arts techniques, you shouldn’t be learning the fancy stuff. This is one of the many reasons you shouldn’t try to learn martial arts or self-defense online or through books or dvd’s. Without a teacher to guide you through the proper order, you’ll be overloaded with things that won’t work for years and your attention will be taken away from the basics.

2) Practice exactly what you want to perform. As I say all the time in class, this is a key component to self defense. Whatever you practice over and over again gets built into your muscle memory. If you practice a kick a certain way for years, that is the way you will throw it if you are actually attacked. Your technique won’t magically get better when you are put under pressure. One inch in any direction could be the difference between a technique working or not, the difference between life and death.

3) Practice mindfulness and awareness. Many styles of martial arts are designed to work in competitions with rules, a referee and in matches that take place at a pre-arranged time and place. Needless to say, all that goes out the window when someone jumps out of a bush at you as you are walking home at night. If you are oblivious to an attack until it hits you, it’s too late. Yet if you sense an attack before it happens, you’ll be well prepared to deal with it as long as you have the right physical tools.

You can and should practice mindfulness and awareness anywhere and at any time. Moving meditation like tai chi and sitting meditation are great for this, and there are other ways as well. Make little games to keep yourself in the moment throughout the day. As an example, did you notice how many times I used a hyphen when spelling self-defense and how many time I spelled self defense without it?

These are just a few concepts that will help you develop the skills to defend yourself. For more ideas, ask me in class!