|
|
|
Barone, Drexel and Harris
My life was always about playing ball, mostly baseball as I grew up. Therefore, I was always at the playground on Chancellor Avenue. This was a hotbed for sports activity in the Weequahic section of Newark, New Jersey in the 1960's. From Monday...
Cycling
Cycling is a great activity that can be enjoyed by the very young to the not so very young. In fact many middle age adults are discovering the health and social benefits of cycling. Recreational cycling doesn’t require any special athletic skill...
How to Break in a Baseball Glove the Old-Fashioned Way
You learn how to break in a baseball glove as soon as you're able to hold a baseball mitt with one hand. It was a tradition in my family each winter. Come late October or early November, after the leaves had already fallen and been raked up and when...
The Best Long Running Las Vegas Shows
Las Vegas shows appeal to people as a display of wonderful images and a thrilling experience. Some of these images are comedic acts, roulette, acrobat, magic, and colorful lights. These are all in Las Vegas. There are many types of shows...
What Baseball Could Learn From a Former Skinny Kid!
The baseball season is here and the game’s greatest players are in the news. They have hit the headlines not for their prowess on the field, but for alleged steroid abuse in the locker room. Baseball’s greatest stars could have taken a body building...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Martial Arts and Self-Defense - Emotional Response and Reaction
The media has fuelled the perception that ordinary people on the
street are in constant danger from violent attack, and
self-defense classes promise to counter this fear.
To attract students, most martial arts schools in the U.S. teach
self-defense methods. They make many claims about the usefulness
of martial arts techniques in defending oneself against attack.
Such situations of attack are rare, however, and can be avoided
by not putting oneself in danger (for example, not walking
around bad neighborhoods after dark, not buying or selling
illegal drugs, not hanging around bars, not getting involved
with gangs, and so on). Being alert and aware of one's
surroundings and recognizing the types of events that are likely
to occur in certain locations are the individual's first line of
self-defense.
The media has fuelled the perception that ordinary people on the
street are in constant danger from violent attack, and
self-defense classes promise to counter this fear. In truth,
this perception is largely false, as more people are injured in
incidents of domestic violence than on the street by strangers.
To be effective, self-defense classes only need to reduce the
feeling of fear.
When a person is actually attacked on the street by a stranger,
the main problem in self-defense is generally not a lack of
physical ability to counter the attack, but an emotional
reaction, such as panic or anger, that can turn a bad situation
worse. Panic can
be paralyzing and invite attack, while anger
can provoke harm as well by frightening or angering an attacker
to further violence.
Serious training in the martial arts takes the emotional
reaction out of violent confrontations. After many hours of
practice, a punch or a kick becomes merely a physical force, a
fist or a foot is easily handled, and an encounter is not even
experienced as a personal attack. Students learn good
coordination and self-confidence, characteristics which can
discourage potential aggressors from becoming aggressive in the
first place. In the martial arts, the simple act itself of
practicing over a long period of time may be the most important
element in effective self-defense than any specific technique
learned.
Focusing on self-defense in today's world has changed the
techniques being taught in the martial arts. In the modern
world, no one is likely to be attacked by a sword-wielding
samurai. Instead, an attacker may be unarmed or have a baseball
bat, knife, or gun. Battlefield combat techniques would not be
very useful in these situations. The emphasis on such techniques
has declined in most martial arts styles and has been replaced
with techniques that are relevant to our times.
About the author:
Steven Gregoire has been training in the martial arts since
1986. Currently he operates Tigerstrike.com A martial art equipment and
supply store.
|
|
|
|
|
|
