How to learn to fight in self defense
This guide will teach you how to learn to fight in self defense against any attacker in any situation that you are in. If you've been a victim of violent crime, it can make you feel powerless and weak to unfortunate circumstances. It can also be traumatic and cause you to suffer from low self esteem. Nevertheless, you have the power to become stronger than what you were before. If you are concerned about violent crimes happening to you, learn to fight in self defense so you gain confidence in dealing with those situations. There are several principles that everyone must wisely follow to be successful in defending themselves anywhere.
* Master the art of fighting without fighting
Bruce Lee introduced this concept in his filmography. The art of fighting without fighting involves outsmarting your opponent without actually fighting. If you are always manipulated by your opponents and let your ego take control, you will always succumb to the will of your enemies. You will always be apart of the world's problems rather than being the solution to them. The art of fighting without fighting requires effective communication, conflict resolution, and so many more values in order to achieve your end goals. The art of fighting without fighting will ultimately help you in avoiding potential conflict before it starts. To fight in self defense starts with this mindset to protect your health and wellbeing, not to exploit it.
* Learn everything:
Learn as much as you can about different types of combat (wrestling, boxing, MMA, Martial Arts, etc.) and weapons (guns, knives, bazookas, so forth). Master them if you have to. If you want to have the highest chances of surviving - be prepared for the impossible. You will want to be more than just the average person who survived an attack, you want to be a warrior. If you are up against a wrestler, a boxer, a street fighter, a soldier, or any violent fighter - you will have a far greater chance of surviving if you have a wide range of knowledge on their strengths and weaknesses in addition to your primary self defense combat system.
* Practice, practice, practice
Practice makes perfect. The more quality practice you have, the better prepared you will be for a real fight. You must work your body for the situations you are training for such as fighting an MMA fighter. Being physically fit and conditioning your body to adjust to the surrounding situations will help you better learn to fight in self defense.
* Adapt to everything:
Want to know what the best self defense system is? It's not Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It's not Wing Chun. It's not Silat. It's your ability to adapt to every situation. Each Martial Art has it's own strengths and weaknesses. It's up to the fighter to know what those are and how to use each to his or her advantage. Learn to fight in self defense by embracing it all. Bruce Lee had an inspirational quote "Be water." It is important to adapt to all situations and not be bound by your traditions, rules, or techniques. You cannot use the same strategy you used on a boxer against an MMA fighter. You cannot use speed to beat someone who is twenty times faster than you. You must therefore adapt to each new situation with wisdom and skill.
* Know your opponents before they know you
Sun Tzu advised for people to know their enemies before riding off to battle. Knowing your opponent is very essential to any fight. That being said, study your opponent's weaknesses and strengths as well as your own. It is however very important that you do not allow your opponent to discover your weaknesses long enough for you to win a fight. This will empower you to conceal your flaws while capitalizing on theirs.
* Focus on survival, not fighting
A misconception about self defense is that you must end a fight in order to survive. The goal of self defense is to ultimately survive but it does not necessarily mean that you must defeat your opponent. If possible, your goal should be to end a fight in one punch or less before you escape. If you use too much force to effectively end a fight, you may end up in jail or not have enough energy to fight another opponent. If you use too little, you may end up seriously injured or killed. Therefore, using only the amount of force necessary is essential to survival.
* Never underestimate or overestimate yourself and your opponent
You should never be overconfident that you think your opponent is easy prey nor afraid to the point where you lack complete confidence. You have the ability to defeat any opponent no matter how large or small and experienced with the right mindset. Learn to fight in self defense by finding the perfect balance in the art of fighting.
* Study the Human anatomy
Knowledge is power only when it is applied in how to learn to fight in self defense. When it comes to fighting, the human body is a structure that can be used as a weapon or as a defensive mechanism. The downside to it is that it is filled with errors and weak points that your opponent can exploit. It all depends on who is aware of them and who can do it first given the circumstance. Studying the weak points of the human body such as the knees will increase your chances of decapitating your opponents if not killing them.
Tip - Focus on balance:
The mistake people make is investing so much energy on attacking and none on maintaining a solid stance. Balance in offense, defense, and neutral stances are very important. You never want to over-commit in any fighting aspect. For example, i once witnessed a sparring match between one of my friends who was a trained boxer against another boxer. My friend's opponent kept wildly swinging in so many punches while my friend kept dodging/blocking each one. Ultimately, his opponent was exhausted so all my friend did was deliver a solid Knock Out punch in the face and he was on the ground. Balance is key especially when you are unaware of your opponent's strengths and weaknesses.
Tip - Show no weakness
Don't let your opponents know that you are afraid or confused as they can take advantage of your frail emotional state. It's better to trick your opponent with a smile and make him or her think you know something that he or she doesn't. Learn to fight in self defense requires self control.
Tip - Focus on dealing with your opponents not how opponents will deal with you
Overcoming the fear of fighting begins when you realize the power you have and stopping negative thinking. When you are afraid of your opponent hurting you then you are giving your opponent the upper hand. Learning to fight in self defense is like learning how to drive a car. Gain control of the vehicle just like you control yourself and you are ready to drive. When you master self control then you are able to control your opponent. If your hand has ever touched a hot stove and instinctively pulled away, you've gotten an idea of how to learn to fight in self defense. Instinctive reaction through bodily discipline will help you to minimize damage.
Tip - Train to tolerate pain
It's a common myth that more exposure to pain will increase pain tolerance which is false. In fact, some studies suggest that frequent exposure to pain conditions the body to be more sensitive to pain rather than less. The key to pain tolerance to learn to fight in self defense is exercise, breathing work outs, and psychological tactics (self talk, meditation, etc.) will all help you last long in a fight.
Tip - Be confident
Trust in your instincts and ability to survive a fight. Don't succumb to your insecurities. Confidence is essential in how to learn to fight. If you lack confidence, you won't be able to commit to offenses or defenses.
Tip - Train smarter not harder
You can practice one kick or punch one thousand times and still end up with the same failed miserable result. This could be due to several possibilities such as a misunderstanding of a concept or not enough muscle memory. If you find yourself failing, meditate on what you are doing wrong and right. Focus on having quality practice instead of quantity. If you want to learn how to fight in self defense, one of the most important lessons is learning from your successes and weaknesses.
My final tip is taking risks you've never taken in your training sessions. Land a harder punch or faster kick in a real life scenario than you did during training. When you understand how to channel energy, control your opponents, yourself, and much more then you will learn how to fight in self defense as you become more than a fighter.