Self-Defense Training & the "False Sense of Security"

When you train in a combat sport like boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA, etc. - or more traditional martial arts like karate, jiu-jitsu, judo, tae kwon do, and plenty more - you are learning how to fight in a certain way. All styles have their own individual techniques and rules but the idea is that you throw strikes to hurt an opponent and defend strikes that would hurt you. 

Then there is self-defense in its purest form, as I have talked about before, which may involve the abovementioned things (striking and defending) but the overarching goal is about survival by any means necessary, with no sport-like competition aspect to it.

In all of these instances, there is a common notion that people like to express (especially online), which is that if you are training in a combat sport or self-defense technique but the training is not good and/or your skills are not good, that you are being lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that you are better than you are. And that this is actually WORSE than if you have NO training at all.

It's a very powerful statement for someone to make. Not only are they better than you at this skill but so much so that your own training is actually not more harmful than good. And when it comes to stuff you read online in the comments section, many people are more than happy to try and express how they know more than everyone else. Everyone is an expert and needs you to know that.

The thing about the false sense of security though, is that this only applies if someone makes decisions to get into a fight and or not avoid a fight because of this training  That if, for instance, instead of avoiding putting themselves at risk or trying to diffuse a situation where someone wants to fight them, they welcome it by saying literally or figuratively "Come at me, bro!" because they feel so confident in their fighting stills. To me though, that is a terrible move to make in any situation.

No matter how well-trained or poorly-trained you are, you shouldn't be picking fights with anyone or putting yourself in unnecessary danger. Ever. Furthermore, you should do everything in your power to avoid getting into one of these situations. Most everyone would probably nod their heads in agreement with that statement but I have seen plenty of people get into fights I think they could have avoided. Diffusing a situation where someone is acting aggressively towards you is a skill unto itself and I would much rather use that than any actual fighting skills. Remember always that even if we "win" the fight and and come out unscathed, there can be legal and financial consequences, as well as other forms of retribution from the other person's side.

When it comes to self-defense, you can avoid many possible scenarios by doing things like locking your car doors as soon as you get in, paying attention when you are walking down the street (as opposed staring into a phone), trusting your gut instinct when you get a bad feeling about somebody, going into a place like a restaurant or a bar if you think you are being followed, etc. etc. Having self-defense training should make you more aware of these things and more concerned about them, as opposed to just thinking you don't have to worry because you have some skills.

If any situation like that comes up and you can extract yourself from it, including just running away, that is the action that you should take. Doesn't matter how tough you are or how much training you have had. There should be no sense of security at all, false or otherwise.

But what about standing up to bullies though? Should we let people just push us around to avoid a physical altercation? I personally think this is very dependent on the specific situation. I know there are often ways to stand up to bullies that don't inherently lead to physical altercations. And if you are confident in standing up to them through intelligent, non-violent means, they can sometimes be deterred from taking that next step and getting physical.

Physical self-defense techniques are meant to be the last resort but mental self-defense techniques should always be in play. Also remember that you can use the do everything perfectly and still die in an altercation. Nothing is 100%. You could also use bad technique and survive. There are almost unlimited variables. The only winning move is to not to play.