Why do we need self-defense?
As a Krav Maga instructor and a strong proponent of self-defense, the most disturbing thing you often hear is people saying that they don’t need self-defense since “these situations will never happen to them” and “they will never put themselves in the position where they will be attacked”. To most of us this type of reasoning sounds absurd, and the rationale for investing into self-defense seems quite clear. But yet there are those that strongly believe in the futility of self-defense training, and therefore we want to take this opportunity to address the question of why everyone needs to learn how to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Obviously there are jobs, such as military or police, where you are more likely to face dangerous and life-threatening situations on a daily basis, and therefore getting the necessary training to handle these situations becomes a necessity. But to the rest of us civilians that go through the daily routines, the likelihood of finding yourself in a dangerous altercation may seem quite unlikely. Then why learn self-defense and train Krav Maga? The answer is that most of us never purposefully choose to put ourselves in a dangerous scenario, but it doesn’t mean that one day you will not randomly find yourself in a life-threatening situation where your Krav Maga training may be called into action. Think of all the random acts of violence in the world and senseless acts of terrorism, random robberies, muggings, and much more. No single person subjected to these actions wanted or chose to be a victim, they simply were in a wrong place at a wrong time. And it can happen to anyone at any moment. It has happened to me when I was growing up in New York City. It has happened to an elderly relative of mine that was attacked by two much younger attackers, it has happened to my dad, it has happened to some of my friends, and some of our students that come after the fact wanting to ensure it never happens to them again.
Think of Krav Maga and self-defense training like an insurance on your safety. Most of us have health insurance for a reason. We don’t look to get sick, but if we do, we are grateful we can take advantage of the health insurance to rehabilitate ourselves. Many of us also get life-insurance to ease the burden on our loved ones if the worst were to happen to us. So why not treat self-defense in the same way? Yes, there are no certainties in life, but getting regular self-defense training greatly improves your chances of successfully dealing with dangerous situations and diminishes the chance of you becoming a victim to violent crime.
And if you never have to use your Krav Maga skills, did you waste your time and money? Of course not! We have wrote numerous articles about the hidden benefits of training Krav Maga, such as improved physical fitness, cardiovascular endurance and weight loss. Mental sharpness and boosted confidence that carries to all aspects of daily activities in your work, school and home. Making new friends and just simply having a fun time training and learning something new. The benefits of training Krav Maga are endless, and ensuring your safety is just the beginning.
And if you are still skeptical about the benefits of learning self-defense, ask yourself this, are you a safe driver? Most of us consider ourselves to be safe drivers, yet accidents still happen routinely. And although you may consider yourself to be the safest driver in the world, you still buckle your seatbelt every time you drive. Many of you even insist that your passengers do the same before you hit the accelerator. So why is it that although you are confident in your driving, you take your safety and that of your loved ones seriously, but when it comes to self-defense and Krav Maga training you see no need to do the same? Whether it’s driving, or taking care of your health or learning how to deal with violent altercations, safety is safety, and the last thing you want to do is compromise or take shortcuts when it comes to your safety and that of your loved ones.
