Self defence versus self protection

By Mike Ashworth | April 14, 2010

The other day I wrote about starting training classes in self protection “from big mick to fit mick - combat training begins”.

One of my friends asked me what I meant by self protection and whether this was the same as self defence so I thought I’d share the answer as I see it with you.

The terms self defence and self protection are often interchangeable, however the main differences are as follows.

Self defence suggests (as it uses the word defend) that some kind of attack has already taken place and you now need to defend yourself from it. Often self defence practitioners will suggest some kind of block or counter strike or other such action.

It almost sounds very polite, they punch you, you block or counter, perhaps they’ll have another go etc. this might sound lovely on paper (or on your computer screen) however in a real situation on the street your attacker will not be aiming to “fight” you. They will be looking to completely overwhelm you and using any dirty trick, destroy you. There may even be two or three people surrounding you and it wont be like a martial arts film where they take it in turns.

Self protection on the other hand is something altogether more different.

The best form of protection is to never be present when the fight occurs. This involves reading situations, assessing risk, body language and behavioural aspects that lead to an attack. It can also involve de-escalating a threat, talking someone down, avoidance wherever possible.

However if it is impossible to de-escalate, avoid or escape the threat and are of the honest belief that you are going to be attacked that you may use force, which is reasonable in the circumstances, to remove that threat.

Many people believe that if you strike first then you must be the culprit and punished, indeed many people have been sent to prison because of the words they used in court. Whereas the law allows for this, “honest belief” and “reasonable in the circumstances” being of paramount importance.

So, as you can see self protection is the whole package, a much broader set of skills, dealing with threat awareness, avoidance, conflict management, de-escalation, pre-emption and post-fight actions.

It equips you both mentally and physically to handle any situation that may arise.

It teaches you how to control your own fears so in some ways you can also say that self protection is about protection against your-self.

Topics: Health |

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