PERSONAL SAFETY AND TRAINING
By Steve Tarani

Given the event of the attack on America as more and more citizens on the home front become aware for the need of personal defense, we as martial artist look within to our training and skills for security. The mere thought of an attack on your person or someone in your family or a girlfriend boils your blood and wants you to leap into defensive action. Our initial response is to beat the guy up and as a consequence of immediate distribution of justice, send him home with a bloody nose. However, does that initial emotional surge of intention fuel the fire of your fight to win in combat at close quarters? You bet it does.

However a fight cannot be won solely on emotional content, as there are other ingredients necessary to secure complete and total victory. As a matter of fact there are three essential elements required in order to win. These are mindset, personal skills and natural attributes.

Mindset – There can only be One

Fighting to win, what does that mean? Does it translate to beat the guy up until you feel good about it? Does it mean to permanently disable your attacker? Or does it mean to simply stop the threat? In the event of imminent danger to others or ourselves such as loss of life or severe personal injury, legally and morally we are enabled to stop any physical threat to our person. The very first step is to get it in your head that this is a fight, possibly to the death and there can be only one winner.

The bottom line is that it's a him-or-you situation. If he's already made the decision to cut you up like a deli sandwich and he is intent on completion of his primary objective - than there can be no compromise and no quarter.

If you are in a close quarter combat altercation with your life and limb on the line, there can be no compromise, there can be no gray lines, there can be no lengthy deliberation process - you are charged with only one single task and that is the task of winning. Once the fight is on there is no room for de-escalation or a tie or a compromise. Complete and total victory must be the one and only pervading thought dominating your mind from the onset. It must be your 100% intention to fight to win. Only after adjusting your mindset can you move to the next level.

Personal Skills

If you are smaller and lighter, then you have the natural ability to move swiftly and out maneuver your opponent larger and heavier opponent. If you are larger and heavier, then you have the natural ability to overpower and outmuscle your smaller and lighter opponent.

All around you - especially in an urban environment, there are many objects and opportunities that can be used around you as a target or a weapon to take control of and vanquish an attacker at close quarters.

Personal safety survival skills may be acquired in any one or all of three different venues -Training books, training videos and training seminars. To purchase a Karambit Personal Safety Training Book click here. To purchase a Karambit Personal Safety Training Video click here. To find out more about training seminars in your area click here.

Using your natural attributes in conjunction with your trained attributes of speed and skill (what you have practiced from your teacher or your training videos) can give you the decisive advantage when the moment of truth unfolds.