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Self-Defense and Stress: You are Your Own Last Line of Defense, by Jessica B.
I have seen many articles on Self-Defense. What I have not seen is topics regarding that moment that you find yourself in a stressful, self-defense situation and how to overcome it. I have taught my children from age 4 that you are your own last line of defense. This realization in itself can be pretty stressful. What most people don’t realize is that when attacked you only have ½ a second to react. This may not seem like a lot of time, but I assure you, your life can be ended by what happens in that initial ½ second.
People that have not prepared themselves for this have an initial reaction of holding their breath. Any ground they could have won by defending their self from a hand to hand attack is lost as the attacker gets a better and tighter hold on their victim. Go ahead, take a moment right now to hold your breath. You just lost your ½ second of reaction time. In that moment, the heart starts beating faster, the blood begins to flow and by holding your breath, you have begun to starve your body of the life giving oxygen needed in order to react faster, and think clearer. You have created extra stress on the body at a time when your body needs to be at its quickest. When you suck in that one breath, your body contours even change, giving your attacker the edge in which to squeeze you tighter. How do you defend against your body’s natural reaction? You have to train. In order for this to be overcome, you have to employ the “no mind” technique of the ancient warriors.
Mushin no shin is the technique of having a “mind with no mind”. Highly trained martial artists enter combat in a state of “no mind”. I am a 2nd Degree black belt in Small Circle Jujitsu, Ryu Kyu Kempo and Tae Kwon Do. I am also a 1st degree black belt in Modern Arnis or Escrima (stick fighting). I also teach self-defense classes to ladies. What I try to teach them is that you don’t have to be a highly trained warrior in several different martial arts. You just have to overcome the initial reaction and trust your instincts and training in a survival situation. In every single self-defense class, 99% of women stiffen up and immediately hold their breath when attacked. They begin to doubt themselves, second guess themselves and make excuses. How do I teach them to overcome this? I make them work through the same technique over and over. When they believe they have got a certain technique, I have them go over it some more. Then, when they are ready, I randomly attack them. If they defend without holding their breath or pausing within the technique, they can move on to the next technique. What happens during this training period? Have I magically imparted a secret knowledge to them? No, the truth is, they begin to become comfortable in their own bodies.
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