If I had to pick only one component of self-defense that outweighs all the rest, it’s situational awareness; nothing else even comes close. Taking one simple step to ensure your safety. Whether we are training law enforcement, private security contractors, or law-abiding citizens, situational awareness is the key.
Situational awareness provides you with a reactionary gap, a buffer of sorts. Simply, all other variables being equal, the further away a threat is from you, the more time and options you have to formulate a response to that threat. Self-defense is simply being prepared so you have options when a threat presents itself. Self-defense is not attacking – it’s about using enough force to stop an attack and survive the encounter with your life and health intact.
To manage the reactionary gap, you must be able to see a potential threat before they present themselves as such. This is where situational awareness comes into play. Self-defense is not a reactive process – it’s a deliberate one. Self-defense begins with awareness, and ends with decisive action. How you interject yourself between those two points is what separates the sheep from the wolves.
The simple truth: violence begets violence, and lack of violence begets lack of violence. Self-defense is not about fighting; it’s about avoiding fights whenever possible. Self-defense is about having options, and the most important option to have in a street altercation is to disengage from the conflict before someone ends up hurt or dead.
Self-defense training should focus on empowering people through awareness and avoidance, when possible, so they have more options in a conflict. Self-defense training should empower the individual rather than the aggressor. Self-defense should be measured and thoughtful, not reactionary or impulsive–and this is where situational awareness plays its most essential role.
Self-defense without situational awareness is like having a loaded gun with no bullets. Self-defense without situational awareness is reactive rather than proactive, and the only defense to that approach is awareness.
“I don’t want to get into fights, but if I get into a fight, I want to win.” If you are serious about knowing how to defend your loved ones and yourself, and you live in the Portage or Kalamazoo area, Lightning Kicks is where you need to be.