Life is unexpected and that’s an understatement and you often have no clue as to what life would throw at you next. The fact of the matter is that our society is rarely peaceful and all you have to do to confirm the same is to review the local dailies to get an idea of what you may be up against. You never know if you will end up getting mugged tomorrow and chances are that you think that the area you reside in is 100% safe and that nothing untoward can happen to you in such an area. But many thought the same and paid with their very lives. This is why it is essential that you pick up the basics of self-defense at the earliest. There are various forms of self-defense classes that you can choose, from the likes of Karate to jujitsu.
But before you assume that self-defense classes are mostly like Krag Maga where the focus is on attack and defense and nothing else, the courses such as Indian martial arts, karate, Taekwondo and many others are about the philosophy as well as self-defense mechanisms. Keep in mind that some of these courses are thousands of years old and have been refined over the ages, to the point that they infuse you with a renewed confidence and vigor. Self-defense and the various courses that impart the training are important for the following reasons –
- Self-confidence: Most people assume that signing up for a self-defense course should do the trick but there’s a lot more to it than just learning the mechanics of defending yourself from being attacked. That’s where the philosophy kicks in and these courses will teach you to boost your own confidence levels so that you can take anyone on.
- Improve personality: These courses are attuned to no personal belief system other than what you believe in yourself and to that end, they enable your personality to grow by getting you to explore your boundaries. While the focus of the class is still self-defense, the training that you undergo imparts you with better self-esteem and this is bound to have a positive effect on your personality.
- Focus: One of the most important elements of your training concerns balance and focus; both are an essential part of your training. Without the requisite balance or focus, you would be in no position to take on anyone which is why it makes more sense to learn how to balance and focus properly before you move on to learning the moves to defend yourself.
- Improves endurance: One of the facets of undergoing stringent training is that you learn how to endure. Like focus endurance is equally essential as this can help you attain better growth and overcome the various challenges that come across your way.
- Physical conditioning: The point of any self-defense class is to make sure that you are able to effectively defend yourself against anyone. And part of the course is to put you through a strict fitness regimen that conditions you both physically and mentally so that you are able to take on your opponent, without flinching from the same.
- Self-aware: As you undergo training, one of the positive advantages of learning about self-defense is that you become more entwined with your surroundings and as a result, are more self-aware. Often, danger can approach you from the back which is why it is a good thing to become more self-aware of your what’s around you.
- Self-respect: Most of these self-defense classes teach you about the need for self-respect and how you need to respect your opponent and how you need to respect yourself. This can even help you quit taking unnecessary risks and in the process can help save your life.
- Personal development: Joining these classes can help shape your personality to something better. It can teach you about the importance of goal setting and why you need to set targets to accomplish your goals. After all, success does not come easy to anyone and with goal setting, you would be able to do something about it.
These are some of the reasons why self-defense classes are important; in fact, colleges should encourage their students to enroll for some of these courses. With the right course under your belt (so as to speak), you should be able to modify your personality and become more confident in the process
You made a good point that being conditioned to defend oneself at a moment’s notice is a nice benefit of leaning self-defense. I’ve been thinking about getting into martial arts lately in order to learn something while also staying fit. Perhaps self-defense takes that up a notch further by also giving me a practical life skill that can come up in emergency situations.