"A systemic flaw in many self-defense systems (particularly for women) is that they provide the student with a sense of having the ability to handle any and all physical threats with physical "fighting" techniques. As a result, this person projects a real sense of confidence and employs boundary setting that actually deters asocial predatory assailants looking for week and submissive victims. The student's fighting ability maybe an illusion, but the ensuing confidence and resulting deterrence is real. " Paradigms of Self-Defense Blogger, Alias "Not Me!"
I feel that this is what explains the success of many self-defense courses. It also supports why many martial arts studio's who profess to teach self-defense also have great success. In a nutshell we will not encounter the type of violence that will require we use our martial arts. In my view, and due to the studies I have done over the last decade, what is taught is not enough but then I think, "what is the cost-benefit of the training?"
What I mean by cost-benefit is the relation of training to actual application in a conflict is so low that the chances of one out of fifty persons may, stress may, encounter a conflict where the physical applications will be necessary. In my humble opinion even those will end up successful only due to natural instincts and their self-defense/martial arts will NOT be a player in that conflict.
So much of self-defense is mental it is not funny. All the training in the world for all the years you live will not beat out a person who has trained the mind-state to achieve success - survival.
Now, reading the quote above speaks to what benefits you actually receive the majority of the time and that is very, very good. Anything that builds confidence is a benefit whether it is in a conflict or just in daily life. This is why many military veterans tend to be more successful than their civilian contemporaries. They learn to project a confidence and can-do aura, attitude and body language that says "a person of substance."
Martial Arts in all its many venues builds self-confidence, self-respect and a solid mind-state but not necessarily to handle many of the more predatory like conflicts and violence. The encounters most will actually face will often be handled will enough with what they learn but that is a very, very small part of the world of violence.
In the end, our lives and our society has achieved a level that most will live their lives in an environment, etc. that will allow them to NOT face violence beyond the social stuff you see in bars, etc. when the drink takes over the common sense along with the ego driving the testerone out of this world type thing.
This and these types of things are necessary to know in some cases, i.e. persons who live in environment that exposes them often to both social and asocial violence, who work in such environments as police and those who take jobs that put them into harms way in protecting others, etc. Outside of this arena, most will be just fine with the types of training and practices that promote what is alluded to in the opening quote - and that is just fine.
See the blog: http://mdpofsd.blogspot.com/
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